Ken Fletcher, the interim pastor of New Life Community Church in Burnaby, has no clear idea yet how his people will try to connect with their community during Celebration 2005, but he does know what their motivation will be.

“We want to pursue them with love and with a compassion and a care for the community,” he says. “We have a desire for their heart, but we’ll love them anyways, whether they accept [Christ] or not.”

New Life was one of the first churches in the Lower Mainland to register for Celebration 2005. And while only a handful had signed on before Christmas, many more are expected to get involved now that the holiday season is over.

“The churches that are getting onboard initially are the ones that are already doing stuff, and other ones will come along as they see other churches, what they’re doing,” says Geoff Tunnicliffe, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada’s director of global initiatives, who lives in Surrey.

“It’s really moving a church from thinking inwardly to outwardly, and that’s a greater challenge for some churches than others.”

Most of the churches that have registered to date plan to gear their participation to what they are already doing in their communities.

Southside Community Church’s four congregations—two in Burnaby and one each in Langley and Surrey—are planning several community events, including an outdoor fair.

Mike van Zanten, the church’s associate pastor of incarnational living, says these are the sorts of activities they would be involved in anyway.

“We believe God’s called us into a neighbourhood to see the Spirit of God transform it, and that’s through His body, His church. And so we take very seriously neighbourhood activities,” he says.

But van Zanten adds that they also hope through Celebration 2005 to encourage other churches to do the same.

“We work very closely with other churches in each of the cities where we are,” he says. “And so there are strategies that we are going to be involved in at that level to really see other churches become part of…that vision of owning neighbourhoods and taking responsibility for communities.”

Southside will also be cooperating under the Celebration 2005 banner with North Langley Community Church and other area churches to reach out to Willoughby, a new community in Langley. Events could include a community carnival and an outdoor clean-up campaign.

“Celebration 2005 for us is a really timely initiative,” says North Langley pastor Brad Sumner, “because the unity factor in the local churches is something that’s already started or being worked on. And this, I think, can even catapult that to the next level.

“The leadership are very attuned that way, but I’d like to see the people in the congregations standing shoulder-to-shoulder with each other and saying, ‘We’re serving this community here with our brothers and sisters in Christ as a unified body of Christ.’”

At South Delta Baptist Church in Tsawwasen, Tunnicliffe—who is also the church’s missions pastor—expects most of their activities will be carried out through small groups.

“This is not a huge stretch for us, but we’re really glad for it. It demonstrates the unity of the body of Christ and builds visibility for all,” he says.

Yet other churches will attempt some things that they have never done before.

Fletcher says they plan to target the virtual “closed community” of high-rises that make up about half of their catchment area.

“It’s going to take some very creative strategizing to figure out how you reach into townhouses and apartments that you have very difficult access to,” he says. “But that’s where we want to try to go.”

Fletcher adds there are four other area churches that he hopes will also sign on to Celebration 2005. “My encouragement to them,” he says, “is hurry up and get your name out there—because I would like somebody to work with.”