Greetings from Calvary Baptist in Gibsons, BC
Our church is experiencing a time of exciting growth and change as we seek God’s ways to minister to our neighbours (and the greater Sunshine Coast community). Our Jubilee Giving Garden continues to be a way of outreach and blessing. We also have a Community Garden with 39 rental boxes providing nearby condo owners and other neighbours with pleasure, produce, new friends, everyday social opportunities, and green therapy. In addition to providing the boxes for gardens, we offer drip irrigation, soil amendment, and composting.
The Jubilee Giving Garden, adjacent to the Community Garden, was established in 2025 to grow vegetables to support people experiencing food insecurity. Thanks to a number of grants, including from CBM's AiM, the success of this reasonably small garden space has been overwhelming! Springtime soil preparation and initial planting is accomplished by volunteers from both the church and community. In April 2026, we added a roof over the worktable, had power brought from the church to the garden, and purchased a fridge for overnight storage of vegetables following our evening harvests. An enclosure for the fridge was also built on one side of the tool shed. We decided to plant and grow more vegetables vertically, adding new metal trellises for tomatoes and cucumbers.
Twice each week, from mid-June to October 2nd, volunteers, most of whom do not attend our church, faithfully arrive to help with the harvest. Our partnership with Barnabas Family Ministries on Keats Island has been key to our very successful harvests. Barnabas generously provided hundreds of starter plants throughout this growing season, enabling “succession planting” of our leafy greens.
Our harvests are fully donated to two groups: the Monday evening harvest is delivered to the Salvation Army Food Bank, and the Thursday evening harvest is passed on to our local One Straw Society*. One Straw has also used our garden perimeter to house a small shed serving as a pickup centre for their vegetable hampers. Both groups are immensely thankful for the vegetables we provide each week.
In July, we were grateful that our Gibsons’ town mayor, and three councillors, accepted our invitation to tour the garden. They were able to witness the productive gardens, ask questions, and enjoy a morning coffee with muffins.
In late September, our volunteers —along with interested church and rental garden folks—celebrated with a harvest potluck lunch. Food items were encouraged to be prepared from our garden vegetables.
As we enter October, the harvest season is coming to an end. Our lead volunteer, Trisha, has conscientiously weighed and counted the totals of our abundant harvest.
We gave away 304 pounds of potatoes, 109 pounds of beans, 653 zucchinis, 785 cucumbers, 137 pounds of cherry tomatoes, 169 pounds of tomatoes, and 125 bunches of chard. Add to this bok choy, spinach, garlic, lettuce, basil, and carrots—all lovingly delivered to grateful partners.
Discussion has been on-going regarding possibilities of expanding the Giving Garden and adding a few more rental boxes to the Community Garden. A planning meeting will be held this week to talk about crop rotation and what vegetables were predominantly successful in making the most of the space that we have. We are busy doing fall clean-up, filling compost bins, picking our fall planting of beautiful bush beans, and discussing the possibility of harvesting rainwater.
God has given us a great season with many opportunities to bless our neighbours, as well as building friendships and enriching, happy labour bringing in the harvest.
We are looking to God for the many new ways He is showing us to connect with our community and be salt and light as we see His kingdom to come in Gibsons.
Blessings and peace to you all the church communities across Western Canada,
Katherine Johnson on behalf of Calvary Baptist Church Gibsons
*One Straw Society is a registered Canadian Charity providing education, workshops, community gardens, resources, and innovative projects to build a resilient, sustainable food system on the Sunshine Coast of BC.
120 Anniversary Celebration FBC Kelowna
First Baptist Church Kelowna celebrated 120 years of ministry! Founded in 1906 as the valley's first evangelical church, FBC has grown and changed alongside Kelowna. While FBC began in 1906, it was planted by a group of Baptists who had met for Bible study and prayer in Kelowna as far back as the 1880s. The church has been shaped by many generations of pastors, missionaries, and congregants, and we are so grateful for God's faithfulness and His continued work. FBC Kelowna has been a part of the Baptist Union since its inception in 1909, long before it became CBWC in 2007.
Our anniversary service centred on Lead Pastor Kevin Green’s message about how stories shape us and included words from our Regional and Executive Ministers (Thank you, Brian and Clint!). We remembered the occasion with a time capsule presented to our congregation, and a prayer read over us by our oldest member, Tina Taylor, who is 96! A celebratory meal and lawn games followed, and it was a joy to see people of every generation gathered to celebrate God’s faithfulness to His church. We give thanks for the past 120 years and look forward to the stories God will write next!
Introductions and Farewells in the BCY Region
We would like to give a warm welcome to the following Ministers who have started their new Pastoral positions in the last few months:
Laceydawn Loeppky, Children & Families Pastor at Summerland Baptist Church, April 2026
Larry Schram, Interim Pastor at White Rock Baptist Church, June 2026
Brad Yeo, Associate Pastor of Youth at Gateway Baptist Church, June 2026
James Yang, Pastor at U-Campus Baptist Church, July 2026
Xue Ting Fong, Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries at West Point Grey Baptist Church, August 2026
Justin Sun, Associate Pastor of Youth and Young Adults & Worship at Grandview Church August 2026
Natalie Warkentin, Congregational Leader at The Neighbourhood Church (Burnaby Location), September 2026
Saw Thall Wah, Assistant Pastor at Myanmar Baptist Church, September 2026
We also extend a heartfelt thank you for your ministry to these servants. Wishing you God’s richest blessing as you move on to the next chapter in your life:
Talita Nell, Gateway Baptist Church, April 2026
Carol Ip, Makarios Evangelical Church, August 2026
Jeremy Kwan, Ward Memorial Baptist Church, August 2026
Ran (Diana) Zhao, Joy Fellowship, August 2026
Brian Carnahan, retired from Bethel Baptist Church, Sechelt, September 2026
