Is God transforming His church to better withstand its enemies?

A year ago, I reported in these pages on a church started in Whistler by a newly arrived couple from Hawaii, of all places. The fallout from that story was, in my professional experience, quite unique. It seems that the good people at "100 Huntley Street" read my piece and decided to send a reporter and cameraman to Whistler to do their own report on the church.

They visited in May. The report aired in July. But talk about weird timing. Because when "100 Huntley Street" was due to air on that particular day in Vancouver, the show was bumped so that the station could provide live coverage of the awarding of the site for the 2010 Winter Olympics. And the winner was: Vancouver?and Whistler. Who could doubt that God is up to something big? First He places a couple in Whistler to enlarge and strengthen that town’s evangelical witness-and then He arranges it so they will cross paths with the world that will come to Whistler six years from now.

But even that is not the end of the story. In September, "100 Huntley Street" re-aired their report to make up for the fact that it had never been seen west of the Rockies. And so from my story published here last January has come a televised report that has been broadcast nationally twice (except for B.C.) in the space of three months!

I share this, because it underscores what for me is a growing realization of the great things that God is doing through-and to-His church. Time and time again throughout 2003, I was made aware of some amazing things taking place in Christian communities here and around the world.

Over and over again, I heard of God moving among His people and sending young and old alike to minister in places where they never would have dreamed of going. I heard of the "emerging church"-believers venturing outside the four walls of their churches to engage people where they are: in homes, in storefronts, in restaurants, cafés and pubs, and on university campuses.

They are planting new churches that may bear little outward resemblance to what most Christians would call "church," and yet they contain many of the same essential elements, such as worship, Bible study, prayer and the Lord’s Supper (often as part of a fellowship meal). While it may all seem new and experimental, it is in fact very old, embodying as it does many of the characteristics of the early church.

To be sure, Canada is not at the forefront of these changes. The house church, for example, is just starting to put down roots in North America. And yet I have no doubt that change-radical change-is on the horizon for our country’s churches and denominations.

Yes, there is and will be resistance to what is basically a de-centralizing force. And yes, there are and will be legitimate concerns raised, such as ensuring that what these new churches teach is doctrinally sound. But ultimately, we must all bow before a higher Authority. As one pastor told me, "I am not one who believes that the church needs to control what God is doing; I think the church needs to facilitate what God is doing."

There is also a practical reality that makes these new dynamics welcome. This year will be a challenging one for people of faith. It is possible that sometime in 2004 homosexual marriage will become the law in Canada. Even if churches are under no obligation to perform same-sex weddings in violation of their beliefs, we should be under no illusion that this protection could easily be taken away by the courts.

And while it is likely that Bill C-250-which aimed to criminalize "hate propaganda" directed toward homosexuals-will not become law before Canadians go the polls this spring, there is no guarantee that similar legislation will not be passed after the election.

Perhaps, in other words, God is preparing to transform and strengthen His church for the trials ahead when its enemies do their best to push the established church to the fringes of Canadian society.