Partnering in Kingston, ON
Bayridge Alliance Church is a well established church that has been faithfully serving the community of Kingston, ON for nearly 50 years. A few years ago, they were drawn to dream about reaching out to people in need in their community in a fresh way.
Lead Pastor Dave Brown sat down to share with us some of the story of partnering with Kingston Motel Ministry, a New Venture which aims to express the love and kindness of Jesus toward the homeless and working poor living in motels in the city of Kingston, ON.
Can you describe the partnership between Bayridge Alliance and Kingston Motel Ministry?
This really has been a God-initiated partnership. Early on, one of our members received a vision to reach out to a local motel that offered monthly accommodations to those unable to secure traditional rental space. From this seed of an idea, church member John Russell emerged as a potential leader as he already had connection to some of these residents and had a heart for this yet to be defined venture.
In the years that have followed, Bayridge Alliance has been able to serve as a launching point for John and the motel ministry primarily by providing structure and support.
The structure piece is significant as it allowed this ministry to begin and flourish with minimal overhead costs and administrative responsibility. The support side of things comes in three ways: people, prayer, and finances.
The people side ensures that John is not alone in this ministry. Some of our members are quite hands-on in engagement with the ministry, and some make donations of supplies. The prayer support was established early on through what we called a “Barnabas Team.” The aim was to have a minimum of 10 people that John could share prayer needs with. We have far exceeded this number! The financial support has included initial seed money, ongoing finances, and special project support. While most of this has come from Bayridge, there have been other churches who have donated as well as people from the community. We could certainly use more financial support partners as this New Venture grows.
This whole endeavour was a stretch for us as a church. We didn’t have clarity on how it would all work, how to evaluate the fruitfulness of the ministry or even if anyone would get on board with the idea. In stepping out into Kingston Motel Ministry, Bayridge has had its view of the gospel and God’s kingdom work broadened. Sometimes the best way to cast a vision is to jump in the deep end and experience what God is doing.
How has it made a difference in the life of Bayridge Alliance to be partnered with Kingston Motel Ministry?
One of the biggest impacts has been our confidence in the Spirit’s leading. Each of the early pieces of this ministry seemed bizarre on their own, but the Spirit was speaking broadly to us and it brought a clarity and confidence to follow His leading. This certainly impacts the collective church body and the individual as they watch for the Spirit’s leading in other areas.
A growing awareness of the tangible needs around us has also come out of this. Especially since COVID-19 hit, it has been incredible that the motel ministry stands as one of the strongest ministries for us. People are still engaged in the ways that are appropriate and I genuinely believe it is because our eyes are being opened to the needs of others.
What would you say to encourage another local church to partner with something new?
I would say three things:
1. Take the risk. All of our churches were started at one point or another by people taking a risk and trying the best they knew how to follow the Spirit’s leading. Bayridge Alliance will be 50 years old this June and I think it is fair to say that willingness to risk can get lost in stability and comfort. Risk is scary, it comes with no guarantees, but it can be a spark for the church.
2. Don’t try to figure out every detail as these ministries change faster than “normal” church ministries. We started reaching out to people in a motel that no longer exists. We call this “Kingston Motel Ministry,” but it has broadened and now John is also serving through the integrated care hub. Why go there when it isn’t a motel? Because that is where the people are.
3. Trust God’s provision: it will come from unlikely sources. Initially I wrote this thinking of finances. Our seed money largely came through an unexpected rental agreement with a construction firm building on our adjacent property. We’ve seen traditional donations through church members, we’ve had community members make donations, and we’ve had a van donated by another church.
But the provision includes people. I think we assumed that the “workers” needed for this New Venture would emerge from our church or from another Kingston church. It turns out that some of the best co-workers that John has are people who early on were receivers of what he was offering.
Wondering how your church can get involved with New Ventures taking shape across the country?
We’d love to help you get set up to partner. Learn more on our church partnership today!