There’s a new church in Bradford, the only church located in the southwest quadrant of the town.
It’s Promise Church, associated with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, and it meets in the gym of Chris Hadfield Public School, at 211 West Park Ave.
The church is the work of Lead Pastor Rob Good.
“This has been my passion for five years,” he said. Good quit his job to return to school, and complete a masters degree at Tyndale University College & Seminary.
Promise Church is a church with a twist — using technology to communicate and share, and reaching out to the community.
At the launch on Sept. 16, the gym at the public school was set up with chairs and tables, where tablets gave members of the new congregation an opportunity to immediately check out and sign up for the programs offered, and ask questions, helping to create an interactive experience during the service.
They shared communion of grape juice, bread and honey, socialized, and listened as Good outlined the meaning of Promise Church.
“We will just eat and drink together … in remembrance of Jesus offering his life,” the pastor said. “We put our trust in Jesus, that you are coming back to fix the crap that’s all around us in this world. We choose to trust in God’s promises.”
Those promises? Simply put, “God promises to come and live with us. God is going to make everything right.”
Promise Church aims to “foreshadow the fulfilment of God’s promises” — doing as much as possible to improve life in the community.
“The church serves the purpose of foreshadowing what God will be doing: making things better,” he said.
Promise Groups — teams of members — will receive grants of $500 each to be used to assist community groups and organizations, from libraries and schools, to the food bank, improving life for residents.
“You get to do stuff that builds the community,” explained Good. “We do things for others. We encourage each other. We build each other up.”
Promise Church meets from 10:30 a.m. to noon every Sunday at Chris Hadfield Public School.
It also offers a children’s ministry under Pastor Victoria Maxmen for Promise Kids, aiming to help young children understand God’s love and what it means to be Christian; a junior high school gym night program on Friday evenings at 7 p.m. for Grades 4 to 9, beginning Sept. 21; and Promise Youth Program, for Grades 6 through 12, that meets from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Sunday evenings, at 71 Roughley St. in Bradford.
Check out Promise Church online at promisechurch.ca, or contact [email protected] or 905-392-0307.
