Struggling church back in the black
I appreciate honesty. So when one of my favourite interview subjects of recent months admitted he had little hope that talking to me would make any difference, I didn't take it personally.
After all, I was just as blown away by how our readers responded as he was.
Last October I drove downtown to visit Parkdale Neighbourhood Church. The small Baptist community meets in the basement of an Anglican church in Toronto near Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Many members of PNC's community are, or have been, homeless. Most live below the poverty line. Some are struggling with mental illness and substance abuse problems.
Part of what makes PNC so special is that despite the challenges people might be facing, they are treated as partners in the creation of this community. Pastor Joe Abbey-Colborne and administrative director Erinn Oxford invite them to help them prepare food for community meals, plan regular social activities and participate in the worship service.
When I spoke to them last fall, they were fighting for financial survival. Erinn told me that if things didn't change, they'd be announcing their closure this spring.
What I really appreciated about talking to Erinn and Joe was how much faith they put in me to tell their story. They didn't try to tell me how to write about them, or even what to write. Instead they just sat down with me and honestly opened up their hearts. So, I went home and wrote the article. Erinn then posted it to her Facebook page and e-mailed it to all her friends and PNC's supporters.
"I couldn't imagine anything was going to happen," Joe says. "I know this sounds terrible. But I had put ChristianWeek readers in this little box in my mind. But I knew I needed to trust you. I needed to give it to you and to see where it went."
And then the wind began to change. The Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec—who PNC feared might not have understood their plight—sent our article to their mailing list and helped PNC network within the broader Baptist community. PNC held a charity auction on November 7, which raised just under $9,000. Then another supporter came forward and offered to top up their deficit, which meant they finished the year in the black.
They were flooded with phone calls, e-mails and other signs of support from ChristianWeek readers across Canada. Several churches responded, including The Meeting House's home church in Parkdale and North Burlington Baptist who will be supporting a meal for the community in February.
"I think the article absolutely made a difference," Erinn says. "We have some new monthly donors who knew nothing about us until they read the article, and that's huge. There was something about the article that made them say, 'I want to become involved in that,' which was quite amazing. We felt very supported by people—not just financially, but through prayer and a desire to help."
"I've been very surprised," Joe adds. "There were people who read it, who didn't know who we were, who contacted us. Really amazing stuff that I never would have expected. It was bit humbling for me to have so many people say, 'I read this article in ChristianWeek and I want to know more about you."
"When we talked in October everything felt very bleak," Erinn says. "We were scared. And now we feel excited and hopeful about our future. While we have not raised all the money we need to yet, we now have a sense that it is possible because it is a ministry that God is in, and we need to trust Him."
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