Pilgrims and Priests: Christian Mission in a Post-Christian Society

In most Western nations, including Canada, the church has become small. The number of active Christians has dropped under 15% in most countries. In many locations it is even less than that. What does this mean for a missionary religion like Christianity? How is it possible to be ‘missional’ in a context where very few people are interested in ‘God’ issues?

Join us in person and online for a public lecture with Dr. Stefan Paas where he will explore the missional identity and spirituality for Christian minorities in post-Christian contexts.

Drawing on the history of Christianity in the West and on Biblical narratives Dr. Paas will explore the metaphor of ‘priesthood’ as a minority identity par excellence. What does it mean to be the priesthood of your family, neighbourhood, village, city, or country? How will this inspire our faith and mission? We will see how a minority identity is, in fact, profoundly hopeful and full of promises for the calling of Christians in the West.

The evening will begin with two BC-based leaders sharing brief stories about how their communities are approaching Christian mission in innovative and creative ways:

• Kim Pierrot, Lead Pastor with CapChurch in North Vancouver
• Jeremy Bellsmith, Minister with St Andrew's Presbyterian in Nanaimo

This event is in being held alongside the Cultivate Church Planting Conference. If you have already registered for the conference, you do not need to register for the public lecture.

This event will be available online.

Not in Vancouver? You can still join us!

A link will be provided to those who register for this event.

About our Speaker

Stefan Paas (1969) received his PhD in Biblical Studies in 1998. His dissertation was published as Creation and Judgement: Creation Texts in Eight-Century Prophets (Brill: Leiden 2003). After a brief career as a high school teacher he worked as a consultant on evangelism for the Christian Reformed Churches in the Netherlands. In 2005 he moved to Amsterdam to work as a church planter. Since 2010 he is a Professor of Missiology and Public Theology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Theologische Universiteit Utrecht (Netherlands). He is also an extraordinary Professor of Missiology at University of Pretoria (RSA). His field of research is mission in the secular West. Stefan has published on Biblical Studies, Political Theology. Philosophy of Religion, and Missiology. His most recent books are Church Planting in the Secular West: Learning from the European Experience (Eerdmans: Grand Rapids 2016), Pilgrims and Priests: Christian Mission in a Post-Christian Society (SCM: London 2019), and Vrede op aarde: Heil en redding in deze tijd [Peace on Earth: Salvation and redemption in this time] (KokBoekencentrum: Utrecht 2023).

Stefan is married with three children, one daugther-in-law, one grandchild, and one border collie (featuring prominently in his latest book on soteriology).

About our Storytellers

Jeremy Bellsmith (he/him)

Jeremy is the pastor at St. Andrews Presbyterian, Nanaimo. The son of a church planter and trained in transitional ministry, he’s served with four congregations through eleven transitions. Currently he is pastoring a church experiencing a merger, a housing project and starting a new congregation (UpperLVL). Jeremy coaches pastors leading congregations through change, including new start ups. Jeremy loves Jesus, his wife and kids, hiking, gardening and the occasional sip of a single malt ... in that order.

Rev. Dr. Kim Pierrot (she/her)

Kim has been leading and pastoring for over 30 years, presently serving as Team Lead at CapChurch in North Vancouver, BC. Some of her most satisfying experiences as a pastor have come from fostering conversations in her church related to LGBTQIA2S+ inclusion, building on her doctoral work related to communal discernment of controversial issues. Kim’s happy place is in the woods, or near the ocean and she enjoys life on the west coast with her husband, three young adult children, and four cats.