These steps are abbreviated but should give you some idea of what we hope to do in the future.

Step 1: First we need to build our first church so that we have 150 adults in regular attendance. Once we have the Club 100 so that we’ll be able to focus our energies on ministry, we believe that this will happen in less than 2 years. During this time we will share our city-reaching vision with all our people in various ways.

Step 2: We will prayerfully search for a second location that is within easy driving distance. Our second church will probably be in Mission, Pitt Meadows, Surrey, or Port Coquitlam. Each of these is within 20 minutes driving distance. Ideally we have some people attending our church that live near or in this second community.

Step 3: We will rent a place to meet in this second city. Ideally this location will be multi-functional with seating for at least 200 on a gymnasium like floor. The location will probably need a lot of work to be ready. We’ll welcome teams from outside and from our church to do the renovations. This might take 6 months to a year but this time will allow our people to start getting excited about this venture.

Rent is expensive in any area of Metro Vancouver. Our present facility costs $2,500 a month and is already inadequate for our usage. We should expect from $3,000-$5,000/month in rent and utilities for even the most basic of warehouse-type spaces.

Step 4: At that point we will hire someone to run this new location on a full time basis. This might be a NAMB/MSC missionary (like John & Tiffany), or even someone from our congregation. Having them working full time is one of the keys to getting this second group started quickly. This person will then move into the area they are trying to work in. The cost for this part would be in the range of $4,000-$5,000/month.

This person would also become part of our overall strategy team as we plan to reach the entire city. He would be as much part of the original church in Maple Ridge as of the new church.

Step 5: We will recruit and train about 20 families from our church in Maple Ridge to become part of the second church. We believe that the entire family can serve Christ together. Even children are an important part of this team as they will form the nucleus of the new church’s children’s work.

Note: Many other churches have planted new churches by taking a group from the “mother church”. What makes our plan different is that the new church is still part of the old one. When two services are held, the congregation will share teaching and be able to see each other during worship. So “leaving” will be much easier. This strategy also allows there to be exchange of people on a regular basis. The key is to continue to have a critical mass in the new location.

Step 6: Then we will run camps, clubs, children’s work and youth work in the new location. This would be supervised and coordinated by the full time worker but carried out by incoming volunteers from our first church and from the U.S. This would create a huge sense of momentum and allow families to see that things are happening at this new location.

Step 7: We will also carry out a mass advertising campaign to help the new church grow quickly. The full time staff person will be responsible for visitation, training of new leaders and organizing small groups. We will train the new members to quickly replace those who came from the previous church.

Step 8: The new church will be taught to carry out the same vision as the first church. Once we have two churches, it will be much easier to plan a third. Core to our success is that these new churches will be grown with a passion to reproduce and reach the city.

Through progressive church starts we will move from Maple Ridge in toward the downtown of the city where the percentage of Christians is lower (1%) and the price of land much higher.

With each new church plant, another staff person is added to our team. These men will bring with them expertise in area like children’s work, small groups, teaching, or worship. It is this cumulative wisdom that will guide all the churches.

Step 9: Return to Step 1!

Other Ways you can be Involved: