Local churches collaborate to host mid-week fellowship

Allen Macartney
Special to Spur Ottawa

Every Wednesday night, for more than a year, up to 100 people have met at the University of Ottawa for what they call “Church on Wednesday.” It’s a stunning success with students.

“Some of us have been praying for this for years,” says Jason Byers, pastor of Celebration Church and a frequent speaker at The Gathering. “But we just didn’t have the resources to organize it. Then some people from Church of the Messiah, Celebration Church, and Calvary Fellowship decided to get more involved. They worked with two campus ministries, Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship and Power to Change, and it took off.”

Most of the students who attend have some sort of Christian affiliation. Some people hope to connect with other Christians or take a break from their study routine. Others are curious nonbelievers, wanting to learn more.

“Church on Wednesday is a place where anyone can come and explore the Bible’s claims, experience Christian worship and community, and ask questions about Jesus,” Byers explains. “This place makes it comfortable for them to explore those issues.”

The church meets in a very high traffic area on the bottom floor of the university centre, in an area called “The Agora.” It has a small stage and benches—perfect for a student gathering.

“Because we meet in the open, people walk by and are sometimes intrigued, so they come and join in,” says Byers.

Why meet on Wednesdays?

“We wanted a mid-week service right on campus,” Byers says. “That makes it easy for students who might be working or busy on weekends and are unable to attend Sunday church.”

The service format is fairly typical. They start with four or five worship songs, led by a live band, and then have a teaching time. The service starts at 7 and runs until about 8:30 p.m. The main speakers change from week to week, but generally alternates between Byers and Daniel Gilman, pastor of Church of the Messiah.

“Lately we’ve also had a question and answer time before a closing prayer,” says Justine Carr, one of the enthusiastic students. “People can text in any question they want to ask about Christian belief and get an answer.”

The service ends with food (cookies, chocolate milk, muffins, gummies)—always a selling point for students.

One distinctive of Church on Wednesday is that it is pretty well limited to the Wednesday services, and it’s set up that way for a reason. Byers explains that they aren’t trying to create a new Christian campus club. They encourage students to connect with local churches and participate in the Christian campus groups that meet throughout the week.

Byers says it’s too early to track the group’s impact.

“It’s partly because it’s still quite new and in the growing/experimentation stage. But we’ve seen a number of people from different faiths, or no faith, engage with Christians for the first time on a genuine level. There have been some great conversations. It’s just open and honest dialog and that’s excellent in a university environment.”

“Church on Wednesday is really great,” Carr adds. “It’s an opportunity to spend time worshipping with Christian friends and re-focus our lives.”