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Edmonton, Alta.
71 people sign membership covenant at Summerside Community Church


Seventy-one people signed a membership covenant at Summerside Community Church, a Mennonite Brethren church plant in Edmonton, on March 3, 2001. They then placed lit candles on a wooden cross, representing the light of Christ they will take into their community.

Summerside Community Church covenant group

“What will be the impact in Edmonton of this new church 45 years from now?” asked David Dyck, pastor of Lendrum MB Church in a message that recounted the history of the MB churches in Edmonton, starting with the Gospel Light Mission in 1958. That ministry has impacted the present churches. Dyck challenged the new church to be a place where the beauty of Christ’s character is lived and known and where the good news of Christ is on display before the world.

Church Planter Ray Wiens shared the story of the new church, which began as prayer meetings at Sunrise Community Church over two years ago. A small group, with a vision for a church centred around evangelism, began meeting Saturday evenings in the First Filipino Alliance Church basement. The group became an official church plant of the Alberta MB Conference under Mission Calgary in June 2000, and Ray and Kathryn Wiens were appointed as church planters. The group grew to 150 people and leased their own church building last December.

The pastors of four local MB churches (Tofield Gospel Chapel, Lendrum MB Church, Riverwest Christian Fellowship and Sunrise Community Church) prayed for the new congregation. They also presented the Summerside congregation with a speaker’s podium as a gift from the churches.

Grand opening

The church had its first public service, attended by 350 people, on April 14. Of the 200 visitors, half indicated that they were not church attenders. One woman with two small children said she had never been inside a church before, and stayed for the service.

The Summerside congregation meets Saturday nights in order to attract non-Christians and the unchurched. Strategic evangelism and discipleship are the focus of the church plant, and most of its resources are poured into these ministries. The church’s first core value is to be a life-transforming church. Ice cream socials, multimedia shows, drama and strong youth and children’s ministries are part of the church.

“The message of salvation in Christ is strong and clear,” says Wiens. “But we make an effort to share it with unchurched people in ways they can relate to. God cares about lost souls in Edmonton, so we want to do everything we can to reach them, disciple them and build His Kingdom.”

 – Summerside Community Church

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Last modified July 9, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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