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Abbotsford, B.C.
Abbotsford readying for birth


There’s something stirring in Abbotsford, B.C. “Like a woman with child, the church in Abbotsford is pregnant with a work of God’s conception,” says Rick Porter, chair of the Abbotsford Christian Leaders’ Network (ACLN) and pastor of Sevenoaks Alliance Church.

The clearest symptom is a coming together of churches. “Though the work of unity God is doing in His church is not specific to Abbotsford, it has happened so quickly and so

Rick Porter

completely as to convince leaders that Abbotsford has an important place in a move of God that seems now to be virtually upon us,” says Porter.

A new brochure by the ACLN reflects this perspective: “The Church in Abbotsford welcomes you.” It then lists all the congregations.

It wasn’t always so. “Abbotsford was not a happy experience for us,” says Justyn Rees of Upstream, a nondenominational Christian renewal ministry. He was commenting on local reception to his ministry’s five-year cross-Canada reconciliation tour, 1995–1999. “We didn’t see any signs of enthusiasm for churches to work together.”

“Six years ago, for people even to think of going to a meeting in someone else’s church was odd,” echoes Pam Dyck, an intercessory prayer leader in Abbotsford. “Now it’s like this is one big house of God and all the churches are just different rooms in that house; the doors aren’t locked anymore.”

What caused the change? Porter cites as “a pivotal event” a prayer retreat sponsored by the Abbotsford Ministerial in the spring of 1996. At that retreat, there was reconciliation and healing between two churches holding ill feelings over a recent split.

That first prayer retreat was followed by more prayer retreats, annually at first, and now semi-annually. It was also followed by a year of co-operation among churches, in both organization and prayer, to prepare for the General Assembly of the World Evangelical Fellowship in May 1997. It was too big for any one church to plan, so they had to work together, says Steve Klassen, then working with MBMS International. He was one of the prayer coordinators for that event.

Encouraged by the interchurch prayer meetings for that event, Klassen joined with prayer leaders from several churches to plan quarterly concerts of prayer. They became another opportunity both to bring Christians together from across church lines and to intercede on behalf of the city. About 10 such meetings were held over the next several years before being folded into other prayer initiatives. Klassen says the events had plateaued and were “not necessarily taking us to new levels”. He adds, “I think, the way things have happened, the Lord is keeping any one ministry or person or church from becoming the focus.”

Indeed, that seems to be the pattern. A variety of initiatives have grown, then waned. Some were carefully planned; others just emerged; some began as individual church events and overflowed their containers as they were endorsed cross-congregationally.

An early element was a weekly worship event, called Doxa, that emerged out of South Abbotsford MB Church, drawing both churched and unchurched youth with its focus on united worship and evangelism. When numbers overflowed the capacity of South Abbotsford Church, it was moved to the larger Central Heights MB Church. It eventually waned and ceased, but has re-emerged with smaller crowds.

Worship has continued to be pivotal in the growing movement. A large worship rally was convened by the ACLN (then still known as the Abbotsford Ministerial) on New Year’s Eve 1999 at the Sevenoaks church. It was markedly cross-congregational. Intergenerational, blended worship led by inter-church bands helped the assembled crowd bring in Y2K with worship, prayer and communion. The format transitioned comfortably after midnight into the more upbeat and freer style characteristic of the more “renewal oriented” churches of the city.

The event was symptomatic of a change that was taking place in the Ministerial. In the summer of 1999, a large turnover in the executive of that body seemed to bring new energy and a fresh approach. The new approach was more an encouragement and empowering of initiatives that were emerging, rather than an initiating or controlling of such initiatives. A year later, the group changed its name to the Abbotsford Christian Leaders’ Network, to reflect the new approach.

Porter says the ALCN serves in the middle of “a loose matrix” of local churches, Christian ministry agencies and affinity networks (youth ministry, worship leadership) with no organizational authority but a growing sense of “apostolic authority”.

Another key element emerged out of the local Vineyard Church. That church had launched a ministry called “Kindness Explosion” in the spring of 1999. It involved sharing acts of kindness with the community – giving away free Cokes or hot dogs, cleaning toilets in business establishments, raking people’s leaves, offering free face-painting where children gathered – simply to show “God’s love without strings attached”. Members from several other churches began to join them in the effort.

The program’s organizer was worship leader Kevin Boese, who had carried a burden for church unity for some time. He was already taking worship leadership responsibilities for numerous cross-congregational events, including the Concerts of Prayer. Boese approached the ACLN about bringing together his three passions – the Kindness Explosions, worship and church unity – in a city-wide event. The result was an interchurch “Love Abbotsford” initiative in June 2000: About 500 people from at least 10 churches participated in an organized kindness explosion, culminating in a large worship celebration that night. “Love Abbotsford” has now been organized with a cross-congregational board. The 2001 event drew about 1500 participants from 30 sponsoring congregations, with an even larger number celebrating at the worship event that night.

Less formal elements include pastors gathering for mutual prayer and support. One weekly group of pastors from two small churches gradually grew to include a wide range of pastors from both small and large churches, whose purpose was mutual support, intercession and “spiritual covering of one another”. Other such gatherings also emerged. These gatherings were nondenominational, with Mennonite Brethren, Mennonites, Anglicans, Methodists, independents, Baptists and Pentecostals freely networking. In summer 2001, weekly noon-hour prayer meetings for pastors were started by the ACLN.

A significant element is Xtreme Prayer, a weekly 5:30 a.m. Thursday prayer meeting, which Porter sees “as a unifying, preparing, desiring movement as a precedent to God’s growing work”. It has seen attendance grow to several hundred, representing at least 60 Abbotsford churches. The meetings’ theme is “Praying God’s heart for the Valley”, with sub-themes “Unity of the Body of Christ under the Lordship of Jesus”, “Revival of the Body of Christ under the direction of the Holy Spirit” and “Transformation of people under the power of the gospel”. This prayer meeting was an outgrowth of a similar phenomenon in nearby Langley, B.C. Among those travelling from Abbotsford for those meetings were pastors Orlando Wall of Prairie Chapel and Korky Neufeld of The Meeting Place. They wondered about implementing something similar in Abbotsford, but were cautioned that earlier efforts of the type had not succeeded in Abbotsford. Undaunted, they contacted Kevin Boese because they felt that worship should be a component of the meetings. Sixteen months later, the meetings show little evidence of waning, as lay people of all ages and church persuasions come out consistently.

As one continues to probe, it becomes clear that the spirit pervading Abbotsford is following a historical pattern. Without exception, those interviewed credit the current stirrings to a women’s intercessory prayer group that began weekly intercession for the city seven years ago (see sidebar). The group has met every Tuesday morning with no other agenda than to intercede for unity, reconciliation and renewal in the city, focusing their intercession primarily on church leaders.

The growing momentum has convinced the ACLN to “plan” some specific events. On September 9, as many as 5000 people are expected to come to the outdoor Rotary Stadium for a gathering of the church of Abbotsford. The evening event follows Northview Community Church’s annual “Homecoming” earlier that day in the same location. It is hoped that most pastors of the city will be on stage together to sign a six-point “Unity Covenant”.

That night will also see the unveiling of another symbol of the corporate church of Abbotsford, the release of a Love Abbotsford CD. The CD, recorded live at the Love Abbotsford celebration, was conceived by Vineyard pastor Terry Lamb, who encouraged Boese and worship leader Brian Doerksen, also from his congregation, to take up the project. Doerksen, the long-time Vineyard worship leader who has now turned his focus to producing worship recordings, has recently assumed a mentoring role for the city’s worship leaders. The CD blends the music that has become standard fare in many Abbotsford churches, with songs written for the occasion by Boese and Doerksen.

The ACLN has also booked the Tradex Building at the Abbotsford Airport (seating 5000) for a week of meetings November 6–12, 2001, although they are unsure of what the nature of the meetings will be. It seems the only thing they are sure of is that God has called them, in faith, to schedule the event. They have not felt peace about inviting a high profile speaker, but are sure that the event will include worship and intercession. It may turn out to be one of the least planned events this highly institutionalized religious community has ever embraced.

The sense of anticipation is growing. Porter enthuses: “I have great prophetic confidence that . . . we are nearing a day of God’s appointment. . . . After all the years of feeling as though I should just give up, I now feel absolutely convinced that I want to remain to see this baby that God is bringing forth.”

Wall is a little more cautious. “There’s clearly a sense of anticipation, but we’re just a part of a larger picture. There are definitely stirrings on a number of levels and a sense that God is moving, but we haven’t seen any outcomes yet.” He’s concerned about placing too high expectations on the November meetings.

Yet all seem prepared to be surprised. “Each time God does revival, He does it His own way. The only common ingredient is prayer,” says Pam Dyck. “We just want to give Him the room to do whatever He wants.”

 – Ron Geddert

An unlikely city leader

Pam Dyck had never thought about starting a prayer group. She didn’t consider herself an intercessor. Then, a friend invited her to “The Gathering” in Whistler, B.C. in 1994. Although the style of that prayer event – just “waiting on the Lord” – contrasted to the conservative approach she was used to in her church, she found it invigorating. Her friend encouraged her to start a prayer group. “Not me,” was her answer. Her image of a prayer meeting was a formal midweek gathering of a few grandmothers. But then she felt a tug from God, saying, “If you don’t open your door, I’m going to send them anyway.” And He did. Young women – in their 20s and 30s – began to contact her, urged on by her friend. “Okay, let the word out,” she finally said to her friend. Again, she heard God speak: “I want to pour My presence over the whole (Fraser) Valley.” If all those who show up share that vision, she said to God, she’d know He’d called. Thirteen women from eight churches showed up for that first meeting. All shared that vision – to lay down their own agendas and pray for “the whole church” in the Valley. They determined to pray for every pastor and every church, and spent a lot of time that first year repenting of personal agendas. After six months, several other women joined them. They’d wanted to start a similar group a year earlier, but had been discouraged by their pastor, who had said, “You can try, but it will never work.” They wept through that whole meeting. “We realized that that pastor had lost hope. We began to pray for pastors and leaders to get the vision that we could work together in unity.” They also began to pray that God would bring new leaders into the Valley with that heart. They’ve met every Tuesday morning now for seven years. Numbers have been steady at about 22, although about 60 different women have been involved. “Each year God gave specific assignments of prayer over the city,” says Dyck. They have a good relationship with the ACLN, and pastors regularly come to them for prayer ministry. When it is suggested that the group is seen by many as “the Abbotsford intercessors”, Dyck is modestly flattered, but quickly disclaims that the group is more than a “a small part of a very big body”. “What we’re seeing is the result of mothers and fathers and grandmothers and grandfathers praying for many years. For some reason, it’s just the timing now.” Indeed, Dyck and her group recently discovered a women’s prayer group that had met for 24 years. “They weren’t as focused as we, praying largely for their own churches and families, but we were reminded to honour our roots, not forgetting the groundwork they’d laid in prayer.” Dyck adds another element to the story. During the WEF Assembly, she says, her group prayed for every delegate, dividing up the names among them. When one of the women ran into a Tanzanian delegate who was of the impression that Canadians didn’t pray, the woman informed him of their group, and he asked to attend. He prayed over the women and shared his vision of Abbotsford. Just as Abbotsford had served as a sending centre for missionaries around the world and the world was now returning to honour it, so God had designated Abbotsford to be a prototype of what unity can do. “We were impressed that the nations of the world would come to pray for us, asking God to bring back to our city what we had sent out,” Dyck says. “God is answering their prayers.”  – Ron Geddert

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Last modified October 10, 2001.

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