Joining Jesus: FAC em Português
From Game-Changer Goals to ‘Joining Jesus,’ FAC has adopted a multi-everything approach to ministry. The goal was to become a rapidly multiplying church. Not only were we multi-generational and multi-service, but intentional steps were taken to become multi-cultural, multi-campus, and multi-lingual.
Our journey so far has been marked by several milestones:
- Church Planting: Most recently, The Exchange Church in 2016.
- A Second Physical Campus: Our Southwest Campus in 2019.
- FAC Online: Our online community launched in 2019!
- Micro-sites: The Mustard Seed in downtown Calgary in 2022.
- Language-Specific Congregations: FAC en Español in 2022.
- Language-Specific Online Service: A Farsi group in 2023.
This year, we explored a new approach during a Board of Elders retreat: church adoption or merger. Inspired by the book Better Together by Jim Tomberlin and Warren Bird, we asked ourselves key questions: Could we accomplish more together than separately? Would our community be better served together? Could the Kingdom of God be further extended by our merger?
Along the way, we were approached by a congregation with strong ties to FAC—‘2or3 Church,’ a Portuguese-speaking, primarily Brazilian congregation. As conversations continued, it became clear that their purpose was also highly missional. They had 8 years of experience connecting with newcomers to Calgary and leading them to faith in Christ.
They were also aware of the difficulties most language-specific congregations face in retaining the next generation. In fact, because of the pressure to increase fluency in English, they were also losing first-generation newcomers. Their desire has been to find an option that leverages their missional purpose while retaining the people they disciple. Our multi-everything approach was intriguing to them.
Our conversations continued in person and online, including mutual visits to one another’s worship gatherings. We began to dream together about what Joining Jesus together might look like. The win for them includes the retention of new disciples, the spiritual covering of a larger body, mentoring of their pastoral team, and economies of scale. The win for us includes welcoming 200+ people—primarily young adults and young families—into our community, all of whom are eager to serve beyond their congregation.
I am excited to share with you that this dream is becoming reality. 2or3 Church will officially become FAC em Português, a new campus of FAC. 2or3 Church will officially become FAC em Português, a new campus of FAC. Starting October 2024, FAC em Português will gather at the Deerfoot location on Saturday evenings in the Harvest Rooms.
Pastor Pedro will serve as the Campus Pastor, reporting to Jeff Marshall, our Senior Associate Pastor – Campus Operations, while Pastor Alexandre will take on the role of Associate Campus Pastor. Both will fully integrate into our existing campus structure, aligning with FAC’s vision, mission, ministry model, teaching team, and branding.
Throughout this process, our Lead Team has continually sensed God’s leading and guidance, affirming that this merger is indeed a step in Joining Jesus in His work in our city.
Join me in welcoming FAC em Português into our FAC family!
Written by James Paton, Lead Pastor
You may also be interested in …
- Getting Ready for FAC en Español, May 2022
- FAC Southwest: The Countdown Is On! September 2019
- Setting Game-Changer Goals, January 2018
