Watercolour Westport mixes community development with Kingdom strategy

Craig Macartney
Spur Ottawa Writer

Kingdom-building projects come in all forms. In church, the phrase, “a Kingdom building project” might mean an evangelism campaign or new discipleship course—it may even be a slogan to raise money for a new building. At Watercolour Westport, the vision of a Kingdom-building project takes on a much more holistic meaning, and on a much larger scale.

“The bigger vision is about building a community that is a ‘thin space’ for people to meet with God for generations to come,” explains Jake Warren, the marketing coordinator for Watercolour Westport.

When Warren refers to “building a community”, he means that quite literally. Watercolour Westport is a new 10-year development project that aims to have the first eight houses built by fall, 2021, in a new neighbourhood of Westport. Yet, the project is about so much more than construction.

“Every aspect of it is being thought through in a very prayerful way,” Warren states. “The goal of becoming a ‘thin space’ is speaking of the design of the community. One of the centrepieces of this neighbourhood design is being walkable. It is interconnectedness by being able to walk to get your basic needs. It is getting to know your neighbours. It is simplified living. We have a huge emphasis on being able to experience creation and get outdoors.”

“It takes builders and trades to build homes in Westport, so the vision begins with discipling even the workers building the homes.”

The project design aims to create a community that draws people out of the urban rush, into a healthier, sustainable community, and a place where they can ultimately meet with God.

“Our tag line is ‘New homes, new life, new possibilities.’ As a leadership team, we want that new life to be new life in Christ, eventually, but people will start with a new life in a community that is designed intentionally to help them have opportunities to consider the deeper things in life,” explains Wafa Martin, the project’s marketing manager. “The new possibilities will flow out of that.”

The project’s founder, Stephen Rolston, is a successful home builder who left the business some years ago and launched various discipleship programs like Souly Business. His vision for this project even extends to the workers building the houses.

“Steve is really only coming back to the home-building business out of what he feels God prompting him to do,” says Warren, underscoring that this building project is a continuation of Rolston’s discipleship passion. “It takes builders and trades to build homes in Westport, so the vision begins with discipling even the workers building the homes.”

“Our posture is coming alongside what God has already been doing there.”

“We are building homes and a community, but we want to build up the Kingdom builders of tradespeople and give them an opportunity to have growth and mentorship in the context of their work,” Martin adds.

The team has also worked hard to foster good relationships with Westport businesses, the families living near the construction project, and the community of local believers. From numerous prayer walks on the property, to partnering closely with a church adjacent to the new neighbourhood, the team is building with purpose.

“We are not bulldozing Westport and remaking it,” Warren states. “Our posture is coming alongside what God has already been doing there. We believe there is a character and beauty there. We want to augment that.”

Practically and spiritually, Martin says, “We are building on the work of others who have gone before, praying that God will do something in this community. There have been generations here who worshiped God and wanted God to be part of this community. We want to bring that a step further in our generation. We are here to build homes, but we are also here to build bigger things, things that are not temporal, homes that are eternal.”