When you enter the doors of Southlands Community Church in Winnipeg, you feel like you've come to a familiar place. Whether it's the greeters at the main entrance who welcome you with a smile, the refreshment tables with freshly brewed coffee in the lobby or the sincere invitations to join in on the many conversations happening throughout the building, it's clear that Southlands understands the value of Christian fellowship.

“People need fellowship,” says Captain Justin Bradbury, corps officer. “They yearn for it. I think this is the most important aspect of our church's focus. My wife, Angela, and I try to personally welcome every newcomer that visits. There are even first-time visitor parking spaces reserved right in front of the church doors. We like to say that Southlands is large enough to celebrate, but small enough to care.”

Community Connection
Southlands is situated in Winnipeg's south end, an area that has experienced a building boom in the past 10 years. It's a growing multicultural community, with many residents hailing from mainland China and South Asia. Muslims comprise a significant percentage of the population, but there are also many Hindus and Buddhists. But beyond any ethnic or religious distinctions, the community is predominately populated by families with young children.

“Southlands is a particular mission field,” says Captain Bradbury. “We are positioned to reach a lot of international people. This whole area consists of new housing, so it is a wonderful opportunity to connect with newcomers and established Canadians.”

While many churches struggle to be representative of their communities, Southlands has attracted many of the area's new residents. “We have 17 nationalities represented at our church,” says Captain Bradbury, which is clearly displayed through the rows of international flags hanging from the ceiling of the sanctuary.

“I'd estimate that more than 75 percent of our congregation resides in our community. We have also welcomed many people who were 'de-churched' for years. We are reconnecting people back to faith.”

Each year the church organizes several outreach events, such as the Chinese New Year, fall carnival and a marriage conference. They advertise these heavily in the community, and encourage members of the congregation to invite their friends and neighbours.

This past winter, the church built a skating rink on its property, which was a useful tool for Olympic outreach events and mingling with neighbourhood youth. In the summer, they will repeat their successful KidsQuest day camp and mid-week family barbecues.

Worshipping Together
On Sunday mornings, the congregation gathers together in the church sanctuary for corporate worship and a teaching session from Captain Bradbury. The church has two worship teams, both of which are led by Darren Sedor, worship pastor.

“When I became Southlands' worship pastor, my focus was to establish a healthy and functional worship ministry,” says Sedor. “When we receive the preaching schedule, I look at each theme and pray about it. I ask God, 'How can the worship teams reinforce what is going to be said?' After prayer, I go about selecting the songs best suited to complement the service.”

The teaching sessions seek to be relevant to the real-life challenges faced by the congregation. Through personal conversations and feedback received through his leadership team, Captain Bradbury is intentional about addressing topics that will offer his people the healing and inspiration they need. And he does so in a way that fosters openness and honest reflection.

“Captain Bradbury is vulnerable with his challenges,” says Harold Park, lay pastor and director of counselling. “When his brother, Jon, passed away, it hit him hard. He's publicly shared how it's been difficult dealing with that. It's sent the message that we all face challenges and that we need to be real with our feelings. We want an open and authentic church. And he's leading by example.”

Vulnerability doesn't come easily. Most people resist exposing their weaknesses, struggles or failures, preferring instead to pretend that they've got everything together. At Southlands, the church strives to be a safe place where people can pour out their hearts. It is an authentic model of church where people support one another and build each other up.

“We've worked hard to cultivate this,” says Captain Bradbury. “Early on, we had to decide, 'What are we going to be about? What kind of church do we want to be?' The credit goes to our people who from the start wanted to create a church environment that is real, where people don't have to pretend they're someone that they're not.”

Community Group Emphasis
While Sunday worship provides one avenue for spiritual formation, the primary emphasis at Southlands is on their community group ministry.

“At many churches, people attend on Sundays, listen to the sermon and then that's all they do in terms of their growth as Christians,” says Park. “What we've realized is that community groups offer people an opportunity for another discipleship process. We are making Christlike disciples—that's our main purpose.”

The community groups offer people an environment where they can find support and love. As they grow together in faith on a weekly basis, the relationships develop to a deeper level so that they become accountable to one another. While other traditional church programs may not keep people connected, the community groups help people stick around.

“People are growing in their faith,” continues Park. “They receive mutual encouragement as they deal with issues and questions they have about life.”

The shift to community groups happened in the fall of 2009, when the church embarked on its 40 Days of Community campaign, based on the Saddleback Community Church program. Embracing the theme of In Community, Serving Community, every member of the church was challenged to join a community group. There are now 16 community groups in operation, which complement the church's other discipleship programs, such as its Discovery Class for new Christians, the teen youth group, the Experiencing God Bible study and moms and tots' group.

The community groups are hosted in various homes, where people gather together to share refreshments and connect with each other. Then, after a main teaching session, the men and women separate to explore the discussion questions and also share their joys and struggles from the week. During a recent week, the groups explored the importance of getting rid of guilt. Each person was challenged to make a moral inventory, where they looked at the areas of sin in their lives and were challenged to accept responsibility for their own faults. They were then encouraged to seek forgiveness with the knowledge that God forgives us instantly, freely and completely.

Outward Focus
But the community groups don't exist solely for the people in attendance. Every community group is required to do outreach projects of some kind.

“We want our community groups to stay open and multiply,” says Captain Bradbury, “but we also want them to be the main avenue of outreach in our community.”

One community group conducted a prayer walk in the community and left notes in 100 houses. Later in the week, a Muslim woman came to the church building and said, “Whoever came to my house this week to pray for us, I want to say thank you. I've never experienced Christian people doing that for us before.”

“We want to help our congregation grow, so we want to increase the number of people that are in community and serving our community,” says Park. “We are encouraging people to listen and interact so that we can try to meet the practical needs that are out there. We want this to be more organically driven, so that the people in our community groups not only focus on their own needs but also those of their neighbours.”

Church Membership
For those interested in membership, Southlands offers a four-hour Partners Class, which provides an introduction to the church and to The Salvation Army. In this orientation, Captain Bradbury explains to people what soldiership and adherency are about and makes those options available to them.

“While our context isn't the inner-city or serving the economically poor, Southlands is true to the spirit of William and Catherine Booth,” says Captain Bradbury. “Our priority is reaching people who aren't part of The Salvation Army and who aren't Christians. We've seen a high percentage of people make first-time commitments to Christ. We're trying to connect with a segment of the population who have written off the traditional church or Christianity, and we're seeing many of them reconnecting with the church,and most importantly to personal faith in Jesus.

“On the holiness side, we're working hard at cultivating healthy Christians, and I think healthier Christians become holier Christians. Our main goal is evangelism and discipleship. We can't be satisfied until every person has the opportunity to hear the gospel.”

The church also connects with other Salvation Army programs in the city, such as the Multicultural Family Centre and correctional and justice services.

Future Vision
Perhaps the future of Southlands is found in their Discovery Class. Noraida is a young woman who recently moved to Winnipeg from the Philippines. Already a Christian before coming to Southlands, she has appreciated the opportunity to know people and feel welcome. “The church draws me nearer to God and helps me move deeper in my faith,” she says.

Yutian came to Winnipeg from China a number of years ago, but has only recently started exploring Christianity. “I'm not a believer yet,” she says. “I find it hard to believe in God, but I like the music and the community groups. I keep coming back because I am learning how to be a better person, and also the importance of mercy and being together.”

As it continues to foster an environment of authentic Christian fellowship, Southlands will see its people grow deeper in their faith, mutually support one another and reach out. They are in community and serving community.

Top photo: Southlands' community groups provide opportunities for fellowship and discipleship; middle: Cpt Angela Bradbury, Harold Park and Cpt Justin Bradbury; bottom: Yutian and Noraida at the Discovery Class