Redeemer, you are a unique church, but you shouldn’t be! Allow me to explain. You have an understanding that church is not segmented or relegated just to one area of your life. You also have an understanding that the church, the body of Christ, can influence culture through many means and in healthy ways. It is one of the reasons that Always Forward, the church planting initiative for the Anglican Church in North America, is bringing the annual fall conference to Church of the Redeemer at the end of this month on September 30th-October 2nd. Our hope is that more churches will look like you. Of course, not exactly like you, because every church has a particular mission in their own context. But like you in thinking through how to bring the gospel to all areas of life so that the church is truly a light within her community. That summarizes the theme of the conference this year: Missional Anglicanism.

These observations are made from an outsider to your church community, a Minnesotan to be exact. My name is Molly Ruch and I work for the Rev. Canon Dr. Dan Alger in his work leading Always Forward. It is a great blessing for Always Forward to be connected to Church of the Redeemer as part of the Abbey. Even as Always Forward seeks to serve the entire province in helping start new churches, the connection to a church keeps Always Forward grounded in what works locally. 

The work of Always Forward, which Fr. Dan has led for the last 10 or so years, is to equip the Province to be a church planting movement that is gospel-centered, sacramental, and missional. Starting new churches continues to be the most effective strategy for reaching people who do not yet know Jesus. Father Dan’s work is to connect with leaders throughout the Province, including Bishops and Canons for Church Planting, to provide them all that is needed in the work of starting new churches. This includes both offering training and coaching in the nuts and bolts of church planting, as well as correcting many of the misperceptions people have about the steps that go into starting an Anglican Church.

My work is to direct the Always Forward Institute which provides training, assessment and coaching for those involved in church planting. In the last two years, Dan and I have developed a training for church planters, leaders, and team members that is thoroughly Anglican. The training acknowledges that our shared heritage and prayer book tradition offer us great resources for discipleship and evangelism. 

This leads back to the conference happening this year at Church of the Redeemer. The Always Forward conference is a place to be encouraged and renewed in our gospel vision. The speakers this year will be focusing our attention on the opportunities in front of us to connect people to Christ. If you can spare the time, you are all welcome to attend. Not only will this conference be a place of connection for those planting churches throughout our Province, it will be a place for everyone to see how God can be at work in and through them for the building up of the church. 

Our speakers will provide both big picture vision and practical understanding of our commission by Christ to “Go and make disciples.” The Rev. Dr. Rick Richardson, a missiologist from Wheaton College and author of the book, You Found Me, will encourage us to live life boldly, to shed our timidity and instead realize the hunger for truth and connection in those we interact with in our daily lives. He will be speaking both on Thursday evening, September 30th, and Friday morning, October 1st. 

Dr. Anneke Stasson will be speaking on Friday afternoon, October 1st. Her work as both an historian, professor, and dedicated lay leader within her church informs her teaching on how our history as the church can give us understanding of the path forward in mission. Her talk on the practices of the medieval church that are applicable today will resonate with those who call Church of the Redeemer home. Following Dr. Stasson’s teaching, there will be a panel discussion of leaders from New Garden Park interacting with her teaching as well as a break-out session to continue the conversation.

All of this is for the building up of the church and the equipping of the saints.  Use this special opportunity to get to know more about the church planting work of Always Forward and the Anglican Church of North America. Register on our website now or contact Abbi Wensyel if you would like to join in by helping in one of the many volunteer roles. We'd love to have you!