“We really focused on the unity of it all.”

Craig Macartney
Spur Ottawa Writer

Most small churches share a common problem: families want their youth to have Christian community, but small churches often have only a couple families with teens. Several Ottawa churches found a solution that they call Fusion Youth.

“Fusion Youth was born over a decade ago. A couple churches in the east end of Ottawa were struggling with youth ministry,” says Jennifer Outhouse, Fusion Youth’s director. “Neither church could really afford a fulltime youth pastor, but the leaderships had really good relationships together. They got together and said, ‘What if we hired one fulltime youth pastor and had one youth ministry for the two churches?’”

The group thrived with around 20 youth total. Families loved the arrangement and the program gained momentum. The two churches, Greenbelt Baptist and Pinegrove Bible Church, were thrilled, but that was only the beginning of Fusion’s success. Two years later, Calvary Baptist Church reached out to the Fusion team.

“We didn’t have ample youth but we did have a few,” says Calvary’s associate pastor, Kenny Wallace. “At the time, we had a lead pastor on staff and wouldn’t have been able to facilitate a youth ministry without the help of other like minded churches.”

“It requires a huge level of mutual trust and a willingness to work together in a way that all the churches can agree and be on board.” Photo courtesy of Fusion Youth.

They sent their volunteers and youth to learn from Fusion, planning to restructure the youth program at their church six months down the road. That never happened. The churches connected so well that they decided to commit to Fusion, despite being further away.

Wallace says the collaborative youth program has numerous benefits, “from meaningful friendships, conversations, worship, and personal interaction with the living Word.”

Outhouse says one key that made it work so well is that Fusion never differentiated between youth from the different churches.

“We really focused on the unity of it all. There is a lot of cooperation that happens. It requires a huge level of mutual trust and a willingness to work together in a way that all the churches can agree and be on board.”

Eventually, the youth pastor went overseas to study and the three churches were unsure if they could still afford a fulltime replacement. That’s when Outhouse took the lead with a new vision. The churches hired her part time and she focused on building youth small groups, with well trained small group leaders coming from each church.

“Each year we saw our numbers increase a little, but when the pandemic hit we experienced a huge influx that we were not expecting.”

Fusion Youth’s team of leaders and volunteers come from four different churches. Photo courtesy of Fusion Youth.

Most youth programs really struggled to keep youth engaged on Zoom, but Fusion found a way to make it work. In the fall of 2020, Bilberry Creek Baptist Church decided to try Fusion out, and committed to join in January 2021.

“Through the pandemic, we grew to 45 students on Zoom, which I couldn’t believe,” Outhouse states. “In the fall [2021], we were not sure what things would look like. We were bracing for lower numbers, but there was a wave of registrations.”

With youth from four churches meeting in person again, the group maxed out their capacity at 62 registered students and 12 small group leaders. They average over 50 students per week.

Outhouse says Fusion has been a major blessing for the churches.

“All four of the churches can now say to new families that they have a booming youth ministry. Financially, every church contributes what they can to make the ministry happen. Every church also provides volunteers, and sometimes their building.”

Wallace says the biggest blessing is seeing youth passionate about Jesus. If churches are invested in unity, he says Fusion is a great model.

“Look for a faithful and theologically-sound youth director. Invest generously in the work. Speak highly of the other churches you’re partnering with. They will have different ministry methods, and that should be okay with you! You are coming together for the sake of Christ to serve and reach youth in this city.”