What led you to plant/ replant/ revitalize your church?
I had the honor of planting a church called Westside in Vancouver in 2005. My time there was sweet and full of God’s good grace and favour as we were able to plant several other churches in the Vancouver area over the years, one of them being the shared planting of TriCity Church with Northview and Crossridge. In 2019, I sensed my time at Westside was coming to an end but had no idea what was next. In early 2020, I was invited into a conversation with Culloden Church who were feeling that it was time to close the ministry and a new one be replanted on the same site. In January, 2021, Midtown officially launched, albeit online and during a pandemic, but God has shown Himself to be faithful and not limited by the challenges presented to us.

How have you seen God working in your church?
We planted a church online during a pandemic and we still exist! That’s nuts but as I wrote above, God has been so good to us. We launched officially on Jan. 24, 2021 but didn’t meet in person until May and that was outside in the church parking lot. And yet, since then we’ve seen new people joining every week, hosted 4 baptisms down at the Pacific, people are serving and inviting and so many are excited for what lays ahead. Have there been challenges during this season? Of course, we’ve all experienced them, but with the hope that comes by way of God’s promises and a shared passion for reaching the neighbourhood and beyond, we are fired up for the future.

What is your connection to Northview Community Church?
Northview have been enormous in their support to Midtown over our short history. One of the things we gave ourselves to since our launch was the renovation of some of the church building space. Northview – both as a ministry and through individual donors – contributed over $500,000 to this work. To God be the glory in His church! We cannot express our thanks and gratefulness enough to Northview, the example of humble generosity is something we wish to emulate. Additionally, there has been the emotional and spiritual support of Jeff Bucknam and Mark Burch to me personally. Jeff is missed but Mark continues to serve on Midtown’s leadership team during this season and is not only a great source of wisdom but also a faithful friend to do ministry life with.

Church Mission and Vision.
We exist to make Jesus known.

Midtown Church, Vancouver – Norm Funk