Faith At Work In Canadian Cities
How receptive are Canadians to the Christian message?
Brian Egert is the director of Mission Canada, an agency that has over 50 workers across Canada to reach beyond the church walls. This episode features a plenary session at the Our City Windsor conference in March 2024.
Links:
Mission Canada
Brian Egert brought this opening message at the Our City Windsor ‘Signs Of Hope’ conference in March 2024. One hundred people gathered at New Song Church in Windsor Ontario to reflect on the hope that Canadian churches can bring to their cities.
Brian is the Director of Mission Canada, an agency committed to raising up workers with a heart of hope for the nation of Canada.
Link:
Mission Canada
With hundreds of beautiful, historic church buildings slated to close across Canada, Trinity Centres Foundation is on a quest to keep the footprints of faith in the urban core. Although congregations may have aged out and unable to create the next chapter for their property, TCF brings together the faith community with a mix of investors, community partners and developers to work on strategies that prevent buildings from being lost the community forever.
In part two of our conversation with Graham Singh, we continue the much needed conversation to help mainline churches and entrepreneurs work together in making our cities better.
Links:
Part one of Graham Singh interview:
https://www.sidewalkskylinepodcast.com/sidewalkskylinepodcast/graham-singh-and-the-story-of-st-jax
St Jax Church
https://www.stjaxchurch.org/en/home
Trinity Centres Foundation
Canadian Urban Institute
Le Monastère Cabaret de Cirque
https://le-monastere.ca/en/home-en/
Church Planting Canada
https://www.churchplantingcanada.ca/welcome
In today’s episode we discuss Graham’s journey to Montreal and St. Jax’s as a unique model of urban ministry.
Graham Singh is Founder and Executive Director of the Trinity Centres Foundation, a new Canadian charity established to transform 100 historic city centre church buildings into community hubs. TCF’s team of 50+ advisors from the social innovation, property finance, urbanism and faith sectors are currently developing what may become one of Canada’s most significant social purpose real estate investment offerings.
Over the past 12 years, Graham has led four historic building and community renewal projects in the United Kingdom and Canada, including in his current role as Rector of the Anglican Diocese of Montreal’ recent church plant, St Jax Montreal.
Graham also acts as a consultant in the area of social impact investing, in the private wealth management sector. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics, Cambridge University (Ridley Hall / St Mellitus College), the University of Western Ontario and Asbury Theological Seminary. He is currently enrolled in Oxford University’s Saïd Business School Impact Innovations Programme.
Brian Egert is the director of Mission Canada, and co-hosts the interview.
Links:
St Jax Church
https://www.stjaxchurch.org/en/home
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Trinity Centres Foundation
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Canadian Urban Institute
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Le Monastère Cabaret de Cirque
https://le-monastere.ca/en/home-en/
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Church Planting Canada
https://www.churchplantingcanada.ca/welcome
Steve Pike has been at the forefront of church planting for thirty years. He served as founding director of Church Multiplication Network (CMN) for the Assemblies of God (USA) denomination.
Seeing a need for more church plants in cities, he founded Urban Islands Project, which exists to “increase the presence of the Church in the Urban O.” We’ll ask Steve to tell us about the Urban O.
He’s released a book entitled ‘Next Wave: Discovering the 21st Century Church’.
I’ve invited a couple friends into the conversation with Steve Pike.
Brian Egert is the director of Mission Canada, a Spirit-led agency of workers that reach into the gaps of Canadian culture where the church needs to go.
Paul Fraser is the director of the Multiply Network for the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, with a focus on encouraging a movement of church planters in Canada.
Read MoreAs the national mission agency of the PAOC, Mission Canada seeks to place uniquely skilled workers into gaps in our nation where the gospel message must be taken. It also exists to network leaders across the nation who are passionate about reaching various people groups. Mission Canada prioritizes five challenges for mission, and has Guiding Groups that strategize together, resourcing one another and our local churches. As the Mission Canada Director, Brian is responsible for working with our districts and churches to identify and release workers who will go to the missional gaps in Canada. He is passionate to see individuals released to reach their God-sized dreams, impacting the unreached regions and peoples of the nation.
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