Jason Ballard on Hope for the Church in Canada, Serving Pastors as a Pastor, and the Importance of Pastoral Friendship

Five years into planting The Way Church in Vancouver and five years into The Pastorate, Jason steps into the guest chair to reflect on what he’s seeing in the Canadian church and what gives him real hope for pastors today. In this role-reversal episode, Jordan interviews Jason about his life as a local pastor, the story behind The Pastorate, and why he still wants to serve pastors as a practitioner, not a commentator.

Jordan and Jason talk about:

• How Jason’s pastoral curiosity shapes the way he hosts the podcast and listens to guests,
• Planting The Way Church during the pandemic and how that journey has run alongside The Pastorate’s first five years,
• A concrete story of church revitalization through The Way’s “marriage” with Sutherland Church in North Vancouver, and what it meant for legacy, humility, and hope,
• The current pastoral landscape in Canada: a shortage of pastors, but a deep hunger, especially among younger leaders, for character, depth, and a real life with God,
• The power of small pastoral cohorts and friendships: sharing burdens, praying together, rejoicing and mourning with one another, as a key to staying in ministry for the long haul,
• What’s next for The Pastorate: retreats, cohorts, city meetups, and the dream of a national gathering that centres on Jesus and the renewal of the church in Canada.

The episode ends with Jason speaking directly to pastors, a reminder that God’s kingdom is at hand, that shepherding a local church is costly and precious work, and that one day in the new creation, the unseen faithfulness of ordinary pastors and congregations will matter more than we can even begin to imagine.

Show Notes

• Alex and Caleb’s Story | a film by The Pastorate
• Aaron’s Story | a film by The Pastorate
• The Way Church
• The Way College
• Give to The Pastorate’s Year End Campaign
• Emerging Leaders Lab Application

Partners

We couldn’t do the work we do at The Pastorate without your generous support. We invite you to pray, share, and ⁠give⁠ towards seeding a hope-filled future for the Canadian church.

Special thanks to the Canadian Bible Society for making this episode possible. We invite you to explore their ⁠Bible Course⁠ to help your church grow in Scripture engagement.