Ministry / Theology

The Protestant Christian Church has had a central role in the life of the western Canadian prairies from earliest times. Often one of the first institutions to be assembled upon the formation of local communities, it is also one of the last to continue some sort of life upon their demise.

Over the years, these institutions have provided direct support to their members, and have had both a direct and indirect economic impact on both local communities and the region generally.

Institutions for the training of clergy were the basis of several of the universities , such as Brandon University, which had its roots in "Prairie College", started by my great-grandfather and an number of his colleagues, for the provision of a general post-secondary education as well as an educated Baptist clergy. At a later date, Brandon College ran into problems when McMaster University in Hamilton was promised a grant if it would pull all funding and stop training clergy at Brandon College. The Baptists agreed.

Such incidents are but small indicators of the huge economic impact of the Church on the prairies since settlement, to say nothing of the their involvement in the labor troubles in the 20's, the formation of Credit Unions, Prohibition, public works, and so on.

Today the prairie scene is changing dramatically. The Churches still have their impact and roles in the community, but one gets the distinct feeling that they are addressing yesterday more than today. It could be compared to the church-paradigm that arrived with the settlers, one fashioned in the old country, for conditions which were no longer relevant. What was good was then striped out from the old models, and new forms and initiatives sprang up on the prairies to meet changed conditions.

The same type of paradigm shift is needed today. Conditions of settlement have moved into a cyber age in a global village. Changes in transportation and communication, shifts in demographics, globalization of agriculture markets and "creeping urbanization" have mixed with other factors to make the present-day prairie scene very much a different world.

As leaders in the Church seek to assess these new conditions , and bring the light of the gospel to bear on them for their congregants, they are often at a loss to know where to start. This web site has been designed to make resources from the community development field available to them. It is hoped that the integration of gospel and its practical application in rural life is made just a bit easier by the materials provided on its pages.

There are many areas of overlap between Ministry and Community Development, particularly at the strategic level which are harder to discern at the tactical level. The large base of resources of both professions can serve to feed the other as its practitioners attempt to fulfill their respective callings.

Further Resources

            put in the detailed footnote info here cue for a same document link here cue for a different document link here