Many languages, one congregation

Willingdon Church in Burnaby, B.C. opened its doors in 1961. A bold move from having Sunday services in German to having them in English paved the way to reach Burnaby and its surrounding communities for Christ.

Willingdon Church now reaches into the Greater Vancouver area in 10 languages. Its mission statement is, “to know Jesus Christ personally and to carry out His ministry.”

The congregation’s international ministries seek to lead people to Christ, and to include them in the body of believers through membership and baptism. Small groups help new believers grow in spiritual maturity and engage in service.

Language ministry first started in 1982 with a Deaf ministry, followed in 1985 by a Spanish ministry. Ministries for Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Indonesian, Russian, French and Romanian speakers were added from the late 1980s onward. Pastor Carlin Weinhauer and his wife Marcia welcomed international groups with open arms, and attendance soared from an average attendance of 1100 in 1985 to around 2200 in 1995.

Willingdon’s outreach continued to grow under the pastoral leadership of John and Kathy Neufeld. A Saturday night service, complete with food services before and after the meeting, and a Saturday clubhouse teaching time for children were added. By March 2003 some 3,560 people called Willingdon Church home.

All language groups but Spanish meet separately for weekly prayer meetings, Bible study, and other functions, but are integrated into Willingdon Church under the leadership of pastor Neufeld. Simultaneous translation into the various languages is provided during the regular service times.

With current missionary outreaches to Mali, Chechnya, Kosovo, Hungary, Nepal, Asia, Ecuador and Greece, Willingdon is truly an international church with a worldwide missionary scope and zeal.

Jennifer Nordstrom attends Willingdon Church.