“It has exploded, to be quite honest.”
So says Steve Griffin, who oversees Centre for the City, a coalition of ministries sponsored by Centre Street Church. Based in Calgary, Alberta, each of the church’s programs—most of them lay-initiated—seeks to love, support and encourage individuals who have experienced challenging circumstances. In partnership with other agencies, church volunteers walk alongside their under-resourced neighbors, offering to meet both spiritual and physical needs regardless of people’s beliefs, race and gender.
Take Trent Eagle Speaker, whose heritage is First Nations. At one point a violent fight broke out at the shelter where he was staying. Is this hell? he asked God. If you’re there, could you get me a better place to live?
An affordable and better place did become available, and it happened to be one block from Centre Street Church. When Eagle Speaker visited the church’s community programs, he found everyone to be so welcoming, “I knew this was going to be my home.”
Today Eagle Speaker is a mainstay at Centre for the City’s programs. “My favorite part is talking to people who are struggling,” he shares. “I’m always asking Jesus to give me the right words to say, telling people how God took over my life, molding me step by step toward sobriety.”
His greatest joy is hearing, “Trent, I’m going to church because of you.”
Multifaceted Impact
Today Centre for the City includes three main branches, each with many programs under it. One branch, the New Canadian Hub led by Katherine Milum, launched 12 years ago and provides friendship, community and practical support to newcomers of all immigration statuses in Canada. Its biggest draw is the English classes, which include childcare while the parents learn. It also offers Bible studies, sewing classes and a supportive community.
The Hub draws roughly 250 people each week, most of whom are relatively new to Canada. Many stay involved for as long as three years while they establish their footing in their new country. During that time, the church’s constant message is “I’m glad you’re here. You are a part of the future of Canada. You make Canada better.”
Another branch, the compassion and care ministry, offers hot meals twice a week, a food bank, gently used clothing at no cost, and delivery support. Together these ministries serve roughly 1,800 people a month.
A third branch is Monday night evangelism, which sends out teams 52 weeks a year, visiting locations from psychic fairs to universities to malls. People from 30 different churches participate, amassing 270 people on the teams, resulting in more than 100 spiritual conversations each week. One of the locations is a “sidewalk church”—a fire pit that offers chocolate, food and conversation. From there, many people might join one of the church’s Alpha groups to have further discussion about who God is.
Beyond Centre for the City, the church embodies the gospel and discipleship through its numerous ministries for people of all ages, including the increased inclusion of families impacted by disability. Programs happen both on Sundays and during the week.
“People new to our church, including many new to Canada, are finding support and a sense of belonging within the disability ministry and our church,” says Corinne Thomas.
It also operates a year-round sports ministry for children and adults. One highlight is a summer program involving hundreds of church and nonchurch kids up to grade six.
Calling Confirmed
It would be easy to think that Henry Schorr, senior pastor since 1986, has cast a big vision for all these outreach ministries, inviting people to create or join them, but he insists that’s not the case.
“Many of the people who have started these ministries—some as far back as 30 years ago—did so in response to a challenge given at the end of a sermon in which we often ask, ‘What is God saying to you?’ and ‘What are you going to do about it?’ All we did was affirm their calling and unleash them to do it,” he explains.
Indeed, Griffin sees his role as a calling far more than just a job. “God called me to work with those in poverty. I was hired to bring the social agency world and the local church together, which has worked well.”
The same is true of Val Hopman, who leads Monday Night Evangelism and Alpha. “I’ve been at Centre Street Church for 27 years, and Pastor Henry is very evangelistic, stirring up in us the passion, urgency and importance of living on mission. He calls us to rise. That’s what got me into this domain.”
Authentic Community
Church people serve their community with no strings attached, but the heartfelt prayer of every volunteer is for the people they serve to connect with both their Lord and their church. Approximately 5% of those served attend weekend church services.
“We may think of people of other faiths or coming from other countries as being closed to the gospel,” observes Milum, “but while they might not be ready to talk about Jesus, they’re often open to spiritual conversations.”
One example is someone from a closed country who said that he came to Canada anticipating finding out about God. He accepted Christ and now helps evangelize others who come from his country with similar longings.
At Centre Street’s central campus, as people exit the sanctuary a sign above the door reads: You’re entering the mission field.
“That’s no longer entirely true,” Schorr clarifies. “Today the mission field is coming to us as well. It’s something we’re seeing as never before.”
In addition to intentionally leading and calling the church to pray, he passionately reminds the church of Jesus’ Great Commission to make disciples and Jesus’ Great Commandment to love God and one’s neighbor.
“First Timothy 2 says that God wants all people to be saved,” he notes. “This is the supreme reason we’re still on earth. In the same way a parent’s heart breaks when a child walks away and refuses to be in relationship with them, likewise God’s heart breaks when his kids ignore or reject him. When we join God in reaching his spiritually lost kids, we’re involved in the most God-glorifying activity possible because nothing is closer to his heart.”
As Steve Griffin says, “What wakes me up each day is the hope of helping more people feel a sense of relationship and belonging. For many, it’s the first time they’ve experienced authentic community. We hear painful words like, ‘I’ve never had a good relationship in my life,’ ‘I’ve never had a place where someone wanted me,’ or ‘I don’t have a place to belong.’ We want them to discover ‘this is my home, and this is my family.’ John 10:10 says that the thief may come to kill and destroy, but Jesus offers abundant life.”
CENTRE STREET CHURCH
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Senior Pastor: Henry Schorr
Website: CSChurch.ca
Founded: 1958
Denomination: Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada
Attendance: 8,000
Locations: 5