March 4, 2014 – The CBWC is pleased to announce that we have hired two part-time church planters for the BC and Alberta Regions. Rev. Shannon Youell of Victoria, BC, has accepted the position of overall Church Planting Coordinator and as the BC-Yukon Regional Church Planting Director. Rev. Ron Orr, pastor of Clive Baptist in Clive, AB has accept the part-time position of Alberta-NWT Regional Church Planting Director.
These two part-time appointments will build on the strong church planting momentum created by Tom Lavigne, who served as the CBWC’s Director of Church Planting for four years. Going forward, the CBWC has decided to take a regional approach rather than centralizing the work of church planting in one location. The CBWC anticipates that we will be hiring a part-time Church Planting Director for the Heartland sometime shortly.
Shannon will work with Ron and the Heartland church planters to support existing church plants, cast church planting vision, and catalyse new church plants in each region, in addition to starting church plants in BC and the Yukon. Ordained in 2012, she has worked as an itinerant speaker and worship leader for 10 years. She has a passion that intentional practices grow deeper in worship and in our knowledge and intimacy with God.
“I am very passionate about believers who are the church, being the tangible presence of Jesus in the places and spaces where we live, work, play and pray. This is God’s call on us: to join him in his mission as his witnesses to reveal the good news of the kingdom of God,” Shannon says. “I am passionate in moving us from our places of worship where we gather a time or two a week, to being scattered about our neighbourhoods, towns and cities and blessing those places and making a difference in some way that reveals the God of love, hope, joy, peace, mercy and healing who so loves the world that He desires none should perish!”
In his part-time role of Alberta-NWT Regional Church Planting Director, Ron will help pastors and churches grasp the vision to plant new churches, support existing church plants, and start new church plants in Alberta and NWT. He will continue his ministry as Senior Pastor at Clive Baptist, where he has served for nearly 12 years. Ron brings a passion to see God invigorating the churches of Alberta by bringing in new peoples with new visions of being faithful in new congregations. He will be working on church planting 3-4 days each month.
“In recent years we have had a significant number of Filipino immigrants join our community and fellowship. We have been richly blessed and challenged by their presence and vibrant faith. We are thankful they have come,” Ron says. “Together we are seeing new house churches springing up and by grouping these we envision new congregations being established throughout central Alberta. I believe that every church must be missional in its own community; that every church should seek to plant new churches in neighbouring communities; and every church should participate in a worldwide vision.”
We are grateful that Shannon and Ron are working with us to plant new churches in western Canada.
Shannon can be reached at syouell@cbwc.ca and Ron can be reached at pastorron@platinum.ca.