“The program’s biggest win for our church, so far, is getting participants walking closer to Jesus.”

Allen Macartney
Spur Ottawa Writer

Tiny Steinbach, Manitoba. It’s not the place you would expect to find a megachurch with a renewal program that’s sending waves of excitement around North America and the world. Yet that’s exactly what Southland Church is doing, and several Ottawa churches are deeply involved.

“Southland’s Church Renewal program was effectively reaching youth, that’s what first attracted me to it,” says Steve Stewart, pastor of Stittsville’s Community Bible Church.

“Initially, I was expecting it to reinvigorate my walk with Jesus, and it certainly delivered on that one,” Stewart adds. “The program’s biggest win for our church, so far, is getting participants walking closer to Jesus.” Having been involved for three years, he says, “It’s still challenging me each week, and it’s very enjoyable.”

The Church Renewal program grew out of Southland’s own radical transformation, spurred by focusing on developing the Christian disciplines. In just over a decade, the church grew from 150 people to over 4,500 attending each weekend. In 2012, they launched a ministry called Church Renewal aimed at supporting pastors, later adding programs for other church leaders. Today, over 1,500 church leaders in 47 countries join in online mentoring each week.

“The curriculum is based on a personal, daily quiet time with God,” Stewart explains. “The materials are a real gem. It’s excellent, designed to really draw you closer to God.”

“This isn’t a revival program that gets everyone excited about God for several weeks.”

Participants meet weekly on Zoom with an experienced coach/mentor, from Southland, to guide the discussion.

“The program includes a lot of discipleship tools that we’re using in our church,” says Daniel Schilke, pastor of Northgate Ministry, in Perth. “These proved an incredible blessing during COVID. I’ve also used many of the mentoring tools in pastoral counselling. They’re really producing fruit.”

“This isn’t a revival program that gets everyone excited about God for several weeks,” clarifies Bob Davies, pastor of Kanata Baptist Church. “That model doesn’t really work long term. What lasts is building a rich personal relationship with God, based on confession, directed Bible reading, and listening to God. That’s the starting point for Church Renewal, and it’s what Southland is all about.”

In addition, Southland provides all the materials free (up to 1,500 pages), but participants have to participate in their weekly mentoring. Davies explains that if churches just took the material and plugged it into their church like another program, it would not be nearly as effective.

The material starts by leading participants very gently through different areas of their life needing confession and repentance, and asking God to free them from that sin. “It’s like taking a spiritual shower,” Davies says, bubbling with excitement. “It’s wonderful!”

“Southland’s materials provide a map of where to go during your personal quiet times.”

Then participants learn to “abide” and really rest in God, while learning to hear His voice.

“The Scriptures are a pre-requisite when you’re learning to hear God’s voice,” Davies states. “There’s no use listening to God unless you’re grounding everything in the Word. If you’re not reading the Bible regularly, do not try to listen to God. The Bible is the primary way God speaks.

“When you start listening for God you need boundaries and parameters to ensure everything stays healthy. After all, how do you know if it’s God’s voice you’re hearing? The material and mentors deal with this issue really well by teaching you how to filter and discern what is His voice as you test the spirit.”

One of the beauties of the material is its wide-ranging denominational appeal. Southland has a Mennonite background, but their program engages everything from Charismatics to Baptists.

“Southland’s materials provide a map of where to go during your personal quiet times, and weekly group discussions,” Davies says. “It’s very flexible. The mentoring is a vital component of the process. Meeting on Zoom, it helps you personalize the material, brainstorm with others in your group, and work through challenges together.

“This isn’t a silver-bullet program that rapidly launches effective church renewal,” Davies adds. “It’s all based and anchored in the Bible, spending time with God, listening and discerning His voice, and letting Him lead your church strategically into the future. There’s just no other way to do it.”