Church brings service to the people
WINNIPEG, MB—The congregation of Eastview Community Church believes that a church is not a building, but a movement.
This movement is one in which its members live intentionally to touch lives with the love of Jesus. Eastview's declared goal, "One Church in Many Locations," aims to bring God's love closer to where people are.
Addressing that need, Dave Ens, teaching pastor, explains, "We are wrestling with the changing role of the church in a culture that largely finds the church irrelevant … We are exploring what it means to move from a model that the church seeks to attract people to one in which the church goes to where people are and meet their needs."
Eastview, which is located in East St. Paul, has joined with like-minded community partners as they plan a "downtown campus" on Princess Street in Winnipeg. The goal is to provide a gathering place of spiritual refreshment for residents, artists, office workers, police officers, college students and teachers in the area. It will include exploratory conversations, such as "H2O" and "Alpha" (two introductory faith courses), a 12-Step Recovery program, counseling for single moms, and worship services. Developing a "Bird's Hill community campus" in the future is also a possibility.
Through the efforts of outreach pastor Greg Armstrong, Eastview has been connecting with numerous places in the Winnipeg area and beyond. The congregation provides spiritual support and practical resources to inmates at the Remand Centre and residents of Forward House, a transitional residence for those who seek a clean break from their destructive past.
Eastview helps run an elementary-school breakfast program, providing resources and volunteers. The youth group under the guidance of Cory Bell, provides school-age children with Bible study and planned activities at a low-income housing-complex.
Eastview is also a faith-partner with Willowdale Fellowship, a fledgling congregation in Tyndall, Manitoba, and a spiritual and financial support for missionaries working with Burmese refugees in Thailand.
A break-off from the River East Mennonite Brethren congregation, Eastview held its first service on September 9, 1990 in Jubilee Place at the Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute. In 1993, Eastview built a new home at the current address. Its congregation grew from 150 in 1990 to nearly 700 today.
Senior pastor Delbert Enns, 52, received his theological training at both Mennonite Bible College (now CMU) and the University of Winnipeg. Prior to this role, Enns was the executive director of Family Life Network, a Winnipeg-based Christian media production house. Armed with entrepreneurial experiences and business acumen, Enns is able to conceptualize how the church may multiply to serve people in myriad ways with little capital costs.
"We must debunk the myth of what a church is," Enns says. "It's not a building, nor a geographic location. A church is the salt and light of Jesus and His bride. It should be everywhere. That's why we espouse 'One Church in Many Places.'"
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