“The Big Give seems clearly to be something every church could and should do.”

Elizabeth Mabie
Spur Ottawa Correspondent

In honour of Canada’s 150th anniversary of confederation, the Big Give has big plans to launch in churches nationwide. The Big Give is a community outreach event, started in Ottawa, where churches coordinate acts of love and generosity in their neighbourhoods, all on the same day.

On June 3, 2017, churches from Ottawa to as far away as Vancouver Island will hold their own, customized Big Give events. Some churches will replicate the original Big Give with a free yard sale. Others may choose to show a movie in a park on a big screen or hand out food and beverages. The only rules are that churches give away products or services for free and that the event is held on the set date.

While each church holds their own function, they are united in one big movement to connect with the community outside the Church.

“Our dream is to have 150 churches across Canada register and be part of the Big Give,” says Kathy Blakely, founder of the Big Give. “I have faith that we will reach that goal.”

The only rules are that churches give away products or services for free and that the event is held on the set date. Photo courtesy of the Big Give.

Registrations keep coming in. Past events were all centred in Ottawa, but this year they have their first church from British Columbia signed up to participate. There have also been registrations from churches in Brockville, Cobden, Saskatoon, and multiple churches from the Greater Toronto Area. The majority of churches participating are still in Ottawa.

“I have been approached by a couple of people in Montreal. We’re just growing with it and letting God grow it organically,” explains Blakely.

One of the new churches participating this year is Global Kingdom Ministries (GKM), a large church located in Scarborough. The church heard about the Big Give and decided to get involved after participating in conference call with Blakely.

“The Big Give is simple, yet powerful,” says Godfrey Adderley, GKM’s missions and outreach pastor. “It’s a unified day of giving to serve our community and celebrate our unity. It seems clearly to be something every church could and should do.”

“We hope it can become a symbol of Christian unity across the country.”

GKM has planned a free car wash, bouncy castles, and a barbeque outside, but inside they will have something quite different. They partnered with The BeYOUtiful Project, a community outreach initiative that assists women in poor circumstances.

“This has the potential to not only bless our community, but to also build bridges to our neighbours,” says Adderley. “We also hope it can become a symbol of Christian unity across the country.”

Another addition to the Big Give this year is that all churches involved are partnering with Alpha Canada. Churches are not supposed to use the Big Give to promote their programs or ask for anything in return. However, they will have Alpha representatives on site to answer questions about Christianity.

“The Big Give is to really show God’s love, which is true outreach,” says Blakely. “Lots of people won’t walk into your church building, but they will walk onto your parking lot. If we can get them in our parking lots, then I’m sure at some point we can probably get them in our buildings.”