CALGARY, AB—Two of the city’s leading evangelical churches say plans are on schedule for participation in Celebration 2005, the outreach and evangelism focus being launched by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada in the New Year.

“We hope to use the occasion as an opportunity to work with other churches in our immediate community and across the city to present a united front as Calgarians who share a common faith in Jesus Christ,” says Roy Alexander, outreach pastor at Centre Street Church.

“We believe Celebration 2005 will be most effective as churches come together and cooperate as a city church rather than each congregation merely doing its own thing.

“For starters, one of our objectives is to conduct a food drive with the goal of breaking the current record for the largest amount of food ever donated to the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank by one initiative,” Alexander says.

“Our understanding is that the current record is something like 15,000 pounds that the YMCA recently donated. We think it would make a significant statement to the community if the evangelical churches in the Calgary area could surpass that mark.”

Since Centre Street Church recently moved into new facilities, Alexander says the congregation hopes to make its participation in Celebration 2005 a part of the outreach mandate the church is crafting for itself.

“Because we’re located in an older, industrial area in northeast Calgary,” the pastor says, “one of the questions we’ve been asking ourselves is ‘would anyone notice if we weren’t here?’

“In addressing that question we realize we need to have a vibrant presence here during the week in order to capitalize on ministry to employees and clients who come into the area for business purposes.

"We’ve already noticed an increase in what we call ‘walk-ins’ or those who enter our doors unannounced during the week for one reason or another. Celebration 2005 will help facilitate some of the strategic thinking we’ve been doing on how to best address the needs represented by these people.”

Rick Scruggs, senior pastor of Bow Valley Christian Church and former chairman of Calgary’s Evangelical Ministerial Association, indicates his congregation retains a similar concern to utilize Celebration 2005 as an opportunity for churches to come together to impact the community. Bow Valley is spearheading the construction of a house in cooperation with Habitat for Humanity.

“At present, 12 churches are signed up to participate in the project,” Scruggs told ChristianWeek, adding he hopes to have close to 30 congregations committed by the time the June 4 build date arrives. In addition to supplying the manpower for construction, participating churches plan to contribute a total of $80,000 to cover the cost of building materials.

Despite the fact that Calgary continues to be an economic bright spot in the Canadian economy, Scruggs points out that where there is prosperity, there is also a segment of the population that represents the other side of the spectrum, particularly the working poor.

“We see the construction of the Habitat home as a long-term, practical investment in the community and a means for Calgary’s evangelicals to establish another visible testimony to the love of Christ in action,” he says.