Covenant Church Future Planning
IF YOU WOULD RATHER WATCH A VIDEO/LISTEN EXPLANING EVERYTHING IN THIS POST, PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO AT THE BOTTOM. IT IS AN ALMOST VERBATIM PRESENTATION OF THIS POST.
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. (Hebrews 1:1-2)
We believe that the primary way God speaks is through Jesus and by the Spirit of Christ. We hear and discern God's voice through the Bible (primarily), tradition/history, reason, and experience. And in our particular Be In Christ Church of Canada tradition, we believe that this discernment happens best in and through the community of believers.
In 2018 we were led through a process of discernment that helped guide our specific priorities for the following five years. That process led us to hire Brent to focus on next generations. It led us to an eagerness to engage with community partners. And it led us to reconsider our space as multifunctional, including an update in our main gathering space and movement towards our upcoming accessiblity project.
The fruit of that strategic planning process is seen in our connection with Early On North Simcoe (who uses our space each Monday), being on the verge of an accessibility project, and (for me, most excitedly) significant connection with youth and families in our community and several youth being baptized in the past two years!!! God has been faithful as we have sought to follow where he led through our community process in 2018.
But a lot has changed since 2018. And that plan was meant to guide us for five years. It is time to prayerfully reengage in a discernment process again.
The question we are asking is not, "What should we do to be bigger?" It isn't, "What are other people doing?" It isn't even, "What best meets my needs?"
Together we are trying to discern, "As we live the way of Jesus together as Covenant Church, what is God leading us to prioritize for the next 3-5 years?" Or....to put it more simply, "God, what's next?"
To answer that, we want to understand better where we are, what God is laying on our hearts, what gifts and passions are among us, and what opportunities exist where those things align. We trust that as we prayerfully listen to each other, God's voice will emerge.
So, how will we do this?
The Strategic Planning Process
- We are inviting everyone who is a part of the Covenant Family, whether for 2 weeks or 46 years, to complete a survey. More about that below...
- A ministry partner, Eric Versluis, will be receiving and amalgamating the responses on our behalf to see what themes emerge. He will share this with Covenant's board to begin to digest.
- Early November, Eric will meet for a retreat with Covenant's staff and board to prayerfully listen through the responses and make an initial discernment of where we sense God is leading us next. They will also begin to assess what the first next steps are as we follow God's lead.
- Eric will take the results of that retreat and put it into an accessible format for the board to review at a subsequent board meeting. Things will be finalized after that board meeting in mid-November.
- In December we will have a Coffee & Conversation to present and discuss the strategic plan that has emerged through your input. This will begin to shape our areas of emphasis through 2027 and beyond.
Your Participation is Essential: back to the survey!
We are inviting you to fill out a survey to help us hear how God is leading us. The survey covers four general areas:
- Covenant Church Today: We begin by hearing what you value about Covenant and where you see the church at its best.
- Gifts, Mission & Community: These questions explore how Covenant equips people to serve and how the church connects with the wider community.
- Looking Ahead: Finally, we’d like you to think about Covenant’s future and what you hope the church can become over the next five years.
- About You: These optional questions will help us understand how different people within the Covenant community experience the church. Your responses will only be used to identify broad patterns and themes. [NOTE that Eric is receiving this data and, other than broad patterns, it will be completely confidential to anyone at Covenant Church.]
The survey can be done any time before the deadline of October 18, 2026. (There are 18 questions on four pages, including six optional "About You" questions.) You can view the entire survey before answering. If you access it through a Google account, you can save your progress and come back to finish it another time.
Again...we are inviting anyone who is a part of our Covenant Family to share your voice - whether you have been a part of us for two weeks or many decades, whether you participate in person or online. If you are a part of the broader community or no longer attend Covenant Church, we love you, and ask that you please leave the survey to those who are an active part of our church.
COVENANT CHURCH FUTURE FEEDBACK SURVEY 2026
To ensure maximum participation, we have a shorter version of the survey available (8 questions with no demographic questions) for those who find the full survey too much. Anyone for whom it is a better fit can participate through the shorter survey link below. This may be a great option for parents to work through with their younger kids!