A searchable, downloadable PDF of the original article appears below. J.H. (Hans) Kouwenberg is the minister of Calvin Presbyterian Church, Abbotsford, B.C. and editor of Channels.
Northview Community Church, a successful seeker-sensitive “subsidiary” of the Mennonite Brethren in Abbotsford, with a current total attendance of nearly 3,000 people at one Saturday evening and two Sunday services each weekend, and one of the fastest growing churches in Canada – it is already planning for an attendance of 9,000 – recently held its third annual Leadership Conference, cleverly entitled: “Online with Gods Web Site: Gods Vision for Your Church in This Generation,” February 6 – 8. Operating under the visionary slogan “leading people to passionately follow Jesus,” this is a congregation that is committed to carefully focused and biblical “core values” which shape it to communicate “in a contemporary style that ministers to our culture.”
Over 170 pastors and lay people paid to see and hear what this kind of church is all about – but they didn’t have to pay very much. A modest and graduated fee ranging from $50.00 for alumni to $95.00 for late registration (and payable in Canadian funds!) included two full days of presentations, a binder, hearty snacks and two lunches. A number of people came from as far away as Ontario and Manitoba in the east and Washington state and California in the south. Intriguingly, few from Abbotsford were in attendance. The majority of attendants represented the usual evangelical and renewal-minded denominations you might expect to find at such a conference; however, there were also a couple of Christian Reformed and Presbyterians, and even one United Church attendant. The majority came from the provinces of Alberta and B.C. Congregations from Burnaby, Surrey and Edmonton were represented by 10 delegates; one congregation from Edmonton sent 35.
This appears to be an increasingly significant church leadership conference for Christians in Canada. Two previous leadership conferences, held at Northview in 1995 and 1996, have drawn 30 and 50 participants respectively. What makes it unique is that Northview is a Canadian “seeker-driven” or “seeker-targeted” model. While many Canadians have attended similar conferences at famous churches like Willow Creek, Illinois and Saddleback, California, this conference sincerely sought to address Canadian concerns.
Admittedly, the conference began with a contemporary bang – à la David Letterman – “The Top Ten Myths” about Northview; ranging all the way from the ludicrous idea that “the baptismal tank doubles as a Jacuzzi,” or that “the average age” of attendees “is sixteen,” (the average age is actually in the 30 – 40 range) to a figment of the imagination that “all pastoral staff receive a BMW as a signing bonus.” But it was immediately clear that Northview knows how to have fun – the staff were obviously enjoying this – and it was a sign that these folk are very adept in the wizardry of synchronizing computer graphics on a screen.
This was followed by thirty minutes of “pumped up” yet worshipful praise, led by their professional songleader, with an amplified acoustic guitar and a wireless headset microphone, accompanied by a young woman playing a synthesizer. Northview staff write a number of their own songs.
The first of our four keynote “main frame” addresses by the senior pastor, Dr. Vern Heidebrecht: “Making God’s Heart Your ‘Home Page’” was positive and motivational and often biblically-based. Two of these other talks were “Embracing God’s Web Site” and “Bringing Your Church Up to Speed … God’s Speed.”
The staff evidenced surprising maturity in spite of their predominantly youthful attitude and age.
There were two opportunities to hear panels of Northview pastors, sometimes including elders or members on the panel, entitled “downloading,” on such topics as: “Ironing Out the Wrinkles of Change”; “The Care and Feeding of a Rare Canadian Breed: the Volunteer”; “The Hardline or the Fineline: Exercising Church Discipline” – as one of their “core values.” Northview believes that “following Christ is demonstrated through authentic biblical lifestyle and mutual accountability”: “When the Call Becomes All: Burnout or Balance”; “Transferable Concepts: Can These Principles Apply to the Small Church?; and, “Hot Flashes” Living within Personal Purity and Ministry Boundaries.”
In the session on working with “change,” the leaders had time to share only one or two items; unfortunately, the size of the group attending these sessions did not allow for interactive or intensive discussion. Nevertheless, the session on “burnout” showed a welcome amount of vulnerable transparency and honesty in what it meant to be “over the line.” The staff evidenced surprising maturity in spite of their predominantly youthful attitude and age. The average age of the staff, excepting the senior pastor, is under 35. Further, one could see that they were obviously enjoying this opportunity to reflect on their own ministry. On a number of occasions I could see that this conference was every bit as pleasurable and useful a learning experience for Northview’s own participants as it was for those who came.
There were four opportunities to catch a bit from the Northview “information highway” on such topics as: “Growing the Church Through Small Groups” – as another core value, Northview believes that “small groups” – not the pastors – “are the primary means of extending care and community to the whole congregation”; “Keeping a Growing Church Financially Healthy: Philosophy, Practice and Pitfalls” – Northview believes that “the management of church and personal finances will be consistent with biblical principles”, “Visionary Elders: Building a Church that Leads” – Northview believes that “the Church is led by congregationally discerned leaders and empowering people for ministry according to their gifts”; “Worship – Never a Dull Moment: The Philosophy Behind the Fun” – Northview believes that worship must be “in a contemporary style” and that “the Scriptures must be taught with a practical bent for life application” – their worship is done in what they term a “free flowing” rather than liturgical style; “Shaping Your Core Values”; “Recruiting and Retaining Excellent Pastoral Staff’; “Building Volunteers for the Long Haul”; “Entry Level Events – Inviting Unbelievers into the Presence of God” – Northview believes that “special events are strategic entry-level opportunities for outreach”; “Bringing Change without World War III”; “Cutting Edge and Cutting Corners; Technology in the Church”; and, sharing the “Ministry Implications” of Northview’s children’s, youth, adult and mission ministries.
Northview’s “core value” about mission believes that “the church” will promote the participation of each individual in a cross-cultural mission experience.” Leaders want people at Northview to ask, “When is it my turn to go?”
Clearly Northview’s ministries cover a wide range of ages, single as well as married people. They attempt to address family and marriage enrichment issues and work hard at seeking to deal redemptively with marital breakdown and divorce. Because their Saturday night and Sunday services crowd their facilities with worshippers and children’s programs, Northview has committed itself to offer and develop a Monday night college-type adult education program called “CORE” (Christians On the Road to Excellence) training.
I personally found Northview’s principles on “shaping core values” and “building a visionary team” to be the most useful, practical and adaptable principles I could eventually apply to my own situation.
There were also two opportunities to join a more casual, smaller group, in working lunches, entitled “troubleshooting,” which allowed for a little more conversation” “Who Pastors the Pastor? Tips on Maintaining Spiritual Fervour”; “Working Harder or Smarter? Tips on Getting Organized”; “Grappling with God’s Vision for Your Church: Now What?” and “How to Work These Principles into Your Setting.” Northview folk seem to be aware of the dilemmas in building bridges from conference to congregation, from ideal to real situations.
Although the conference was well-organized and professionally presented, friendly and long-suffering volunteers were evident and appeared happy to serve. This was no Americanized glitz and glamour show. Vern Heidebrecht summed up Northview’s and his own experience in his closing address, with which many conferees appeared to agree – as they came to pray at the front of the room at the closing service of the conference – that the church often grows best through “crashes and viruses” and “brokenness” and “weakness” rather than strength.
The next conference is scheduled for February 5 – 8, 1998.