“I’ve experienced this freedom in a way that I have never had in 15 years of pastoral ministry.”

Craig Macartney
Spur Ottawa Writer

Steinbach, Manitoba—you may not have heard of it, but this small town is increasingly influencing the Church in Ottawa. This past January, 35 local Christian leaders braved the cold to continue a growing trend of travelling to Steinbach to experience Church Renewal.

It started with a struggling church of 150 people. With the pastor’s son gone wayward and his wife undergoing a serious medical crisis, Southland Community Church started holding prayer services that changed the way they approach church. As God transformed their situation and their hearts, the church began growing. Today, the church averages weekly attendance of 4,500 people, in a town of fewer than 16,000. They host three Church Renewal weekends every year, supporting and networking with pastors across the world to pass on what they have learned.

“Church Renewal is significant because it is a humble move of the Spirit,” explains Mark Peterkins, executive director of One Way Ministries. “The pastors are not flashy, flamboyant leaders, they’re just humble folks who God is blessing with renewing. They’ve been learning about the Holy Spirit and what they call the ‘Ancient Disciplines’: going back to prayer, listening prayer, Bible reading, and fasting.”

“It’s not a new trick or a new tool, it’s a mixture of a move of the Spirit and implementing spiritual habits.”

Peterkins was among the leaders who attended the Church Renewal conference this January. He says Southland Community Church brings together an interesting combination of their conservative background and a focus on the Holy Spirit.

“One of the things that was really beautiful and powerful, on the Sunday night they schedule their prayer summit. It is their church’s monthly prayer gathering. It’s about 1,000 people in the room; lots of men and young people—not the typical people you’d see in a prayer meeting.”

So what is the church’s secret? It is far less complicated than you might think, according to Dan Wallis, pastor of Cornerstone Wesleyan Church, in North Gower.

“It’s not a new trick or a new tool, it’s a mixture of a move of the Spirit and implementing spiritual habits. They start with confession. You are split into threes (called triads) and they lead you through a strategic process of confession. This is not about kneeling at the altar and weeping, it is very methodical, but the proof is in the pudding.”

“We have all heard about confession, prayer, worship, missions, but the way they roll it out is so methodical and strategic.”

Part of the process is recognizing generational sins that could be a vulnerability, whether or not you have fallen into them. This is an area that really encouraged Wallis. After talking and praying together with the triad, Wallis says, “I’ve experienced this freedom from these generational influences, in a way I never had in 15 years of pastoral ministry. It’s like water off a duck’s back.”

At the end of the weekend, the church invites senior leaders to join their mentorship program, free of charge. They believe that by renewing pastors, the Church is renewed. They also stress that renewing the Church is a long-term journey, not a program to roll out overnight. As Wallis describes it, Church Renewal is about deeply “establishing the fundamentals” in leaders.

“We have all heard about confession, prayer, worship, missions, but the way they roll it out is so methodical and strategic.”

Peterkins says, “I think what could come out of this is some great models for discipleship. Part of my hope is that [the mentorship] will help set some habits of spending more time with the Lord, being a bit more accountable for my spiritual life, I can’t say I’m looking forward to the scripture memorization, but I know that will be good for me.”

“This is a church that is advancing in the middle of a culture that is expecting churches to decline and close.”

Ottawa is a unique city; the Church here walks in unity like few other places in Canada. Adding to that strengthening leaders and re-establishing the “Ancient Traditions”, Peterkins feels it could be how God wants to revive His Church.

“I came away encouraged and feeling that this is an example of a church that is advancing in the middle of a culture that is expecting churches to decline and close. They are experiencing exactly the opposite and they share that with anyone who wants to track with them.”