Evangelistic, goodwill event draws mixed reactions
MONTREAL, QC—An evangelistic outreach event for the poor headed up by the producers of "100 Huntley Street" is meeting with some resistance.
"Free-4-All" is an initiative of the Crossroads Family of Ministries in cooperation with the Goodness Outreach Project Ministry. The goal is to visit 12 Canadian cities over a period of three years, partnering with local churches in each city to hold a one-time evangelistic, goodwill event.
Prior to each event, postcards are mailed out to people living in low-income areas, inviting them to come to a central location where the gospel is presented and bags of food and toys are distributed.
"It's a party, a celebration," says "100 Huntley Street" host Ron Mainse who is spearheading the effort with his wife Ann. "That's why we call it Free-4-All. We want people to know that the gift of salvation is free for everybody."
Mainse launched the national initiative after experiencing a similar event at a Toronto church in 2003 that attracted more than 9,000 people.
The first Free-4-All event was held at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton on December 11, 2004, attracting an estimated 10,000 people. About 3,500 families received food and toys, according to David Rutledge, director of ministry relations for Crossroads. A Montreal event is planned for April, with the goal to impact about 1,000 families.
"This is not a church growth gimmick," says Robert Melnichuk of the Goodness Project. "We are here to bless the community."
Not everyone is so enthused, however. Following the Hamilton event, questions were raised about the effectiveness of a one-time event when the needs of the poor require a much longer-term solution. Similar questions were raised during an early January meeting of about 20 pastors to discuss the upcoming Free-4-All in Montreal.
Duane and Miriam Mansveld work with street people in downtown Montreal and have misgivings about the effectiveness of the approach Free-4-All is taking. "Social action is not entering into community with the poor," says Duane. "Events do not help us."
"Giving contacts to pastors for follow-up does not work. We have already tried that," says Miriam.
Cyril Morgan, director of Welcome Hall Mission, says food is not a problem in the inner city. "You have to be blind, deaf and paralyzed to go hungry in Montreal. Everybody knows where to get food," he says.
Morgan says churches need to continue supporting the long-term work of the downtown missions.
Mainse says he is well aware of the needs.
"We don't have any illusion that we're coming in to solve poverty," he says. "It's a single event. The food and toys are a reason to have people come to a meeting. We could have held a crusade, but only a handful of people would have come."
Instead, he says, the goal is to use the event as "more of a tool" to host a celebration where the gospel is presented, as well as providing for immediate needs such as food.
Financial concerns
Fundraising issues were also brought into question during the pastors' meeting. Churches taking part in Free-4-All are encouraged to support it financially as well as by providing volunteers.
While Denis Bourget of Focus on the Family Quebec brought up the difficulty of procuring funding from Quebec churches, Paul Gazdik, pastor of a Baptist church, countered with the observation that churches will not take responsibility for their own finances if they know they can rely on gifts from the outside.
Another participant, director of a crisis pregnancy center, said she could live for a long time on the budget designated to a one-day event like Free-4-All.
Despite the different perspectives on social action, the idea of generating a sense of unity and cooperation among churches was met with some enthusiasm. Participants agree that lack of unity is a major weakness in Montreal's church community and expressed the desire to work together.
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