In October, we welcomed 100+ youth pastors representing over 8,000 students to Vancouver, BC for our very first Canadian Youth Pastor Summit. 3 days with some of Canada’s best youth pastors, all gathering for the sake of the next generation. These are some of our favorite moments from our time together. In this episode, you’ll hear from: Youth ministry experts Lisette Fraser, Sid Koop and Jason Ballard. Youth Pastor Jarin Oda from Bridgetown Church.  Pastor and preacher Chris Price.  And other youth pastors we interviewed live, in the moment from across Canada. Join Mariah Smith and Jaden Neufeld from the team at CCLN as they walk through the final day of the gathering, uncovering themes like partnering with parents, leading vulnerably in front of students, emerging gender identities, the beauty of serving youth long-term, best practices for spiritual formation & more.  Thanks to Generis for supporting this episode. To get in touch with them, email our friend Jon at jon.wright@generis.com Show Notes: Youth Worker Community The Coalition: Youth Ministry Leadership  Get Connected! Blog & Episode write-up Website Join our Mailing List!  Subscribe on YouTube Follow on Instagram  Share a Canadian Church Story

In October, we welcomed 100+ youth pastors representing over 8,000 students to Vancouver, BC for our very first Canadian Youth Pastor Summit. 3 days with some of Canada’s best youth pastors, all gathering for the sake of the next generation. These are some of our favorite moments from our time together. In this episode, you’ll hear from: Youth ministry experts Lisette Fraser, Sid Koop and Jason Ballard. Bible researcher, Hakeem Bradley from the Bible Project. Long-time pastor and preacher Darrell Johnson. And other youth pastors we interviewed live, in the moment from across Canada. Join Mariah Smith and Jaden Neufeld from the team at CCLN as they walk through this gathering, uncovering themes like key youth audiences to focus on, what Generation Z cares about most, deepening Bible engagement in our youth ministries, the challenges youth pastors are experiencing & what Jesus is inviting them into today. We hope this episode equips and encourages you to do effective, Spirit empowered youth ministry in this time. Give today to CCLN and help seed a hopeful future for the Church in Canada. Show Notes: Youth Worker Community The Coalition: Youth Ministry Leadership  Bible Project Get Connected! Blog & Episode write-up Website Join our Mailing List!  Subscribe on YouTube Follow on Instagram  Share a Canadian Church Story

Though the major cities in Canada seem to have a sort of gravitational pull to them, there is a deep need for smaller towns in our country to see church planting, multiplication and revitalization. Canada needs more pastors like Nathan Weselake who have a big Kingdom vision for the smaller places in our nation. Join Nathan and Jason as they discuss the key prayers that are transforming Nathan’s church, how his heart beats most for indigenous reconciliation, what it means for a church to exist for a place & more. And one last thing – with a heart to minister to remote fly-in communities in Manitoba, Nathan might be the only pastor with a plane who you would gladly support… We hope this episode inspires you to see God’s Kingdom come where He has you today. Bio | Nathan is married to Tamara, and they have four children. Nathan is Lead Pastor of Prairie Alliance Church in Portage La Prairie, providing overarching leadership over their sites. Nathan is passionate about helping PAC live out four key prayers and pursuing reconciliation with local Indigenous communities. You can usually find him riding bikes, deep-diving into sports fantasy leagues, and eating food that has been sitting in the fridge for far too long. Give today to CCLN and help seed a hopeful future for the Church in Canada. Help solve the global food crisis by giving gifts of Compassion today or get in touch with the team at Compassion.  Show Notes: Prairie Alliance Church  Upside Down Kingdom by Nathan Weselake Get Connected! Blog & Episode write-up Website Join our Mailing List!  Subscribe on YouTube Follow on Instagram  Share a Canadian Church Story

With Jesus’ words living deep in her heart, Joyce Rees is known as someone who calls the Church and Her leaders to the main things. To sit down with Joyce is to inevitably talk about loving the poor, becoming a servant, contemplating a day where we will stand before the Lord. Join Joyce and Jason as they discuss those themes as well as the impact Joyce’s ministry had on Jason as a teenager, why we cannot simply copy and paste another leader’s methods or style, how pursuing God’s call often comes with resistance & more. We hope this episode inspires you to faithfully serve where the Lord has you today. Bio | Joyce Rees has pastored for thirty years. In addition, she is a sought-after speaker for diverse parts of the Church as an exceptional communicator, known especially for her teaching on justice. Joyce was the founding director of Jacob's Well, an intentional Christian community in Vancouver's downtown eastside – the poorest postal code in Canada. During her decade living and working there she also planted the Strathcona Vineyard Church. Since 2014 she has served as co-lead pastor of Epic Vineyard Church in Calgary, and also works bi-vocationally for Vineyard Canada as their Resource Coordinator since 2019. Joyce loves adventuring with her husband and two sons, as well as complex cooking, reading pretty much everything, and many diverse artistic pursuits.  Thanks to the Canadian Bible Society for supporting this episode. Learn more about their Bible Course here. Give today to CCLN and help seed a hopeful future for the Church in Canada. Show Notes: Epic Vineyard Church Jacob’s Well Stephen’s Society A Burning in my Bones by Winn Collier Hemorrhaging Faith Study Get Connected! Blog & Episode write-up Website Join our Mailing List!  Subscribe on YouTube Follow on Instagram  Share a Canadian Church Story

We have had quite a few conversations with Darrell Johnson now, and it still feels like we are just scratching the surface of what the Lord has taught him in his 50+ years of ministry. For this special episode, we interviewed Darrell live and online in front of pastors from across Canada, using the questions they submitted. In this conversation, Darrell and Jason discuss the definition of a pastor, how to serve churches while prioritizing family, teaching a biblically illiterate church, what Darrell prays for pastors & more. We hope this episode serves you as you in turn serve those the Lord has entrusted to you. Bio | Darrell W. Johnson has been preaching Jesus Christ and His Gospel for over 50 years. He has served a number of Presbyterian congregations in California, Union Church of Manila in the Philippines, and the historic First Baptist Church in the heart of Vancouver, Canada. He has taught preaching for Fuller Theological Seminary, Carey Theological College in Vancouver, and Regent College in Vancouver. He has authored eight books, including The Glory of Preaching and Discipleship on the Edge: An Expository Journey Through Revelation. He is currently serving as a pastor at The Way Church and Canadian Church Leaders Network. He and his wife Sharon have been married over 50 years. Together they have raised four children adopted from four different countries of the world, and now enjoy loving 11 active grandchildren! Thanks to Compassion Canada for sponsoring today’s episode. You can learn more about partnering with them as a church here. Give today to CCLN and help seed a hopeful future for the Church in Canada. Show Notes: Shepherds After My Own Heart: Pastoral Traditions and Leadership in The Bible by Timothy S. Laniak Texts on Shepherding: Ezekiel 34, Psalm 23 Darrell’s Website  The Darrell Johnson Podcast  Follow Darrell on Instagram  Darrell’s YouTube Channel Get Connected! Blog & Episode write-up Website Join our Mailing List!  Subscribe on YouTube Follow on Instagram  Share a Canadian Church Story

After almost 100 episodes, Mike happens to be the first pastor/body-builder that has graced the podcast … and he did not disappoint. With almost 20 years at the same church (North Pointe Community Church), and a story marked with unimaginable suffering, Mike is an incredible example of faithfulness and perseverance. In this conversation, Mike and Jason discuss the 100+ year history of North Pointe, the importance of building vibrant churches in rural communities, how to effect change while working with teams of people, as well as Mike’s tragic story of loss and how it’s impacted his life and pastoral vocation. We hope you are inspired through this episode with Mike Voll. Bio | Mike lives with his wife Melissa, and children Aubri and Zane in Edmonton, Alberta. He is the Lead Pastor at North Pointe Community Church and an Adjunct Faculty member at Vanguard College in Edmonton, where he teaches the Intermediate Pastoral Practicum class. Michael’s passion in life is to communicate for change in everyday living through sharing his story and creative teaching of Bible principles. He is a speaker, teacher and writer on issues of faith, leadership and family. In his downtime Michael likes to be the tickle monster to his kids, read spy novels, lift weights and grill up a mean rib eye steak. Thanks to the Canadian Bible Society for supporting this episode. Learn more about their Bible Course here. Give today to CCLN and help seed a hopeful future for the Church in Canada. Show Notes: North Pointe Community Church Sideswiped: Three Keys to a Fresh Start after Suffering a Broken Heart Get Connected! Blog & Episode write-up Website Join our Mailing List!  Subscribe on YouTube Follow on Instagram  Share a Canadian Church Story

While most teenagers her age were dreaming about years of travelling or schooling after graduation, young Katia Adams was dreaming about planting a church. With parents and grandparents that played a vital role in the inception of the Iranian Church, Katia was dead set on building upon the foundation of faith laid by her family. Katia’s story can be traced from Iran, to England, all the way to the heart of Boston in the USA today where she pastors a community called the Table Boston. In this interview, hear her and Jason discuss this unique story, and how it has profoundly shaped the way Katia views the church and pastoral leadership today. Bio | Katia is Senior Pastor of The Table Boston Church and Director of Frequentsee. Katia teaches on theological courses, church conferences and leadership events internationally. In addition to being a preacher, pastor, she is also a medical doctor, wife to Julian, mother to two busy children and the author of Equal. Thanks to Generis for supporting this episode. To get in touch with them, email our friend Jon at jon.wright@generis.com Give today to CCLN and help seed a hopeful future for the Church in Canada. Show Notes: The Table Boston Frequentsee Get Connected! Blog & Episode write-up Website Join our Mailing List!  Subscribe on YouTube Follow on Instagram  Share a Canadian Church Story

In a time where the list of pastors who are falling seems to be growing, we’ve been on the search for faithful pastors. Pastors who have finished well, stayed the course, maintained a deep love for Jesus and His Bride - pastors who have been faithful. Thankfully, we didn’t have to look far. In this special mini-series, we circle around the topic of faithfulness with a group of leaders that have 5 to 50+ years of pastoral experience. We sat down with Darrell & Sharon Johnson, Helen Burns, Murray Coughlan, Jason Ballard and Jeremiah Niengor. This is part 2 of what we found. Thanks to Compassion Canada for sponsoring today’s episode. You can learn more about partnering with them as a church here. Give today to CCLN and help seed a hopeful future for the Church in Canada. Get Connected! Blog & Episode write-up Website Join our Mailing List!  Subscribe on YouTube Follow on Instagram  Share a Canadian Church Story

In a time where the list of pastors who are falling seems to be growing, we’ve been on the search for faithful pastors. Pastors who have finished well, stayed the course, maintained a deep love for Jesus and His Bride - pastors who have been faithful. Thankfully, we didn’t have to look far. In this special mini-series, we circle around the topic of faithfulness with a group of leaders that have 5 to 50+ years of pastoral experience. We sat down with Darrell & Sharon Johnson, Helen Burns, Murray Coughlan, Jason Ballard and Jeremiah Niengor. This is part 1 of what we found. Thanks to the Canadian Bible Society for supporting this episode. Learn more about their Bible Course here. Give today to CCLN and help seed a hopeful future for the Church in Canada. Get Connected! Blog & Episode write-up Website Join our Mailing List!  Subscribe on YouTube Follow on Instagram  Share a Canadian Church Story

Here's a quick update on an upcoming episode we're excited to release, and a bit about what this fall will look like on the podcast. Take a listen.