Church Plant Update - Good Shepherd Burnaby
Good Shepherd Burnaby is a church plant in Burnaby, British Columbia and led by Rev. Angel Tong. Since 2012, Rev. Angel and her husband Luke Lo, an evangelist, have been involved in various church plants, serving people from Hong Kong, Mainland China, and other parts of Asia. She obtained her Master of Christian Studies (MCS) from Alliance Bible Seminary and Master of Divinity (MDiv) from Carey Theological College. In 2019 Angel served at Good Shepherd Vancouver and started to prepare a new Chinese church plant which became Good Shepherd Burnaby, under the Asian and Multicultural Ministries in Canada (AMMiC). We recently had the chance to ask Angel a few questions about how the young church plant is progressing.
Angel, in what ways have you seen growth and development at GS Burnaby so far?
Angel: We officially launched our first public service in Burnaby on July 3rd, 2022.
Since then we’ve focused on our vision “to be a missional church” and training our core team. Some newcomers have been baptized, most of our people wished to be confirmed in the church, and they are really eager to learn the Bible and serve.
What’s one specific story from your plant that’s been a real encouragement to you?
Angel: This church plant is different from our previous ones in terms of the number of people, it can be said that it started from zero. By the grace of God, He brought a core team to us and continues to add new people among us.
On Christmas Eve 2022, our church was flooded due to heavy snow. Some of us shovelled snow, others poured water, and others prepared food. Finally, everyone experienced a wonderful time of Christmas dinner and candlelight worship service.
What are some of your biggest needs right now?
Angel: Some of the biggest needs include building a stronger team of committed Christians, who are like-minded, and have the same vision to develop a missional church; love God, love people, and desire to make God known to all. Another need is to be able to become financially independent and healthy, while our members are committed to tithes and sacrificial offerings.
Planting new churches is a major priority for us as a diocese of parishes and one we need extra financial giving to pursue. Church planters need our support as they establish these churches. Will you consider giving so we can continue to multiply leaders and churches across the continent? You can give here: