My Hope for Beulah, the Local Church and Edmonton

Whenever I pray, “God may your kingdom come and your will be done,” I’m not just going through the motions and praying some sort of ritualistic prayer. Nor am I praying it and hoping that God would do that through someone else in some other place. Since this is a part of the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray, I have confidence that he is doing “something” when we have the audacity to pray that prayer with sincerity and faith. And I’m convinced that God chooses to do that “something” through you and I – through the church.

Let’s face it. The local church can be dysfunctional because we are the local church and we can all be dysfunctional. Regardless, I have full faith in God’s redemptive power and his desire to usher in his kingdom through the local church.

When I came to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to serve at Beulah Alliance Church in 2010, I wasn’t just coming for some job. I came because I was convinced that Beulah was all about God’s kingdom and his mission. After all, since its birth in 1921, over 60 churches have been planted out of Beulah.

And now that God is leading us into a new season of ministry, I’ve been spending a lot of time reflecting on this question,

“What gives me hope that Beulah will continue on this trajectory and be a transformational kingdom agent in Edmonton and beyond?”

Here are some of my thoughts:

1. There is kingdom leadership and a kingdom vision 

• “If Beulah were to disappear tomorrow, would anybody notice?” This is the question that’s on the heart of Keith Taylor, the lead pastor at Beulah, the elders and the staff at Beulah. This isn’t about the Beulah brand. It’s about evaluating whether or not Beulah is functioning the way that Jesus intended the church to function.
• The vision of Beulah is to be a multiplying church that is all about God’s mission and his Kingdom. This is evidenced in its history as well as in the plans of the future to start more churches and campuses.
• Every year that I’ve been at Beulah, we gave in and around $1 million away. Now that shows the real heart of Beulah to be about God’s kingdom, rather than Beulah’s kingdom.

2. The vision is supported structurally

• When I was on staff at Beulah, I was a part of an internal move to shift the culture of Beulah to being more missional. To ensure that this cultural shift took place, I, along with others, advocated for there to also be a structural change to support that shift. As a result, we ended up organizing adult ministries into two separate divisions – a missional one and a formation one.

3. There are vehicles for the vision to move forward

• A church can declare that it wants to be about God’s kingdom and his mission, but if there isn’t a way to get people moving, then it’s all for naught. As a result, while at Beulah, I led the initiative to start mid-size communities. Not only did we see mid-size communities become one of the fastest ways to get people into community, but mid-size communities also became the practical vehicles to help people move and get on mission with God.
• Mid-size communities are basically little house churches, and within 3 years, we saw over 700 people get connected into these at all of our campuses.

As I leave Beulah, my heart is filled with a mix of emotions:

• I’m sad because I love the people of Beulah, but I’m excited because I see God moving and using Beulah powerfully.
• I’m sad because I’m handing off the vision of mid-size communities to others, but I’m excited for the staff team and lay leaders who are championing it forward.
• I’m sad because I’m leaving on-the-ground pastoral ministry, but I’m excited to work at LifeWay to help many churches in their mission to make disciples and multiply.

I’m convinced that the landscape of Edmonton will be transformed because of the ongoing kingdom ministry of Beulah. Can you say the same of your church?

What is your church doing to ensure that it will make a lasting kingdom impact in your city?