Choosing to Partner
We believe we can go further faster with the help of others. Whether that is people in our church, denomination, ministries we support or who support us, or community organizations serving Kingdom purposes; we know that there are people doing things we are better to join into then ever try and do on our own.
So, we value the opportunity to learn from others and support their God given vision. We want to make our communities a better place to work, live, and play, and if that means choosing to partner with others for greater impact that is what we will do.
The main partnership we have is with the ACOP – Apostolic Church of Pentecost our fellowship of churches, but there are many other Kingdom partnerships we are involved in locally and globally; (you can find out about ‘here’). Take time to learn how we are partnering with each of them as one piece of the puzzle in making our community better together.
ACOP Fellowship of Churches
We are part of a fellowship of hundreds of churches across Canada and around the world called the ACOP (Apostolic Church of Pentecost). The ACOP celebrated 100 years in Canada the year our founders moved to Ottawa to get this church started in 2021 ACOP has sent out workers to more than 40 countries around the world.
Over the past century, ACOP has engaged in children’s and youth ministry, women’s and men’s ministry, orphan care, camp ministry, church construction, distribution of bibles, digging wells, providing water filtration, addiction recovery programs, bible training, vocational training, and Christian education.
We are grateful for all the things God has accomplished through ACOP during the past century, but we are longing for greater fruitfulness in our second century. We are grateful for the deep roots that we have in the Pentecostal movement – but we want to embrace the renewing work that the Spirit is doing in our day and will do in the future.
C2C Collective – Church Planting Network
C2C Collective is a church planting network that exists to be a catalyst for church planting and multiplication. Their hope is to empower you and I to multiply & advance the Gospel in our community. As a partner of our church they are supporting us with a staff member on our advisory board, equipping us with tools for church planting, providing a national prayer movement at 10:02 every day (praying for workers for the harvest), offering a relational network across the country, coaching, and helping us to raise financial support. We are also supporting the work of C2C Collective with 1% of every offering given by people at our church.
C2C collective (Canada) is a missions-based network that exists to see Canada reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They take their name from Psalm 72:8, “May He have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!” This verse was suggested by Sir Leonard Tilley to the “Fathers of Confederation” in 1864 as the motto for Canada and is etched in stone over the east arch of the Peace Tower in Ottawa.
They are a relatively young movement that was birthed in the Mennonite Brethren denomination in British Columbia and was first known as "Church Planting BC." C2C has since grown to be a cross-denominational, national network that serves over 30 evangelical denominations, networks, and mission agencies; we partner together to plant Gospel centered, Spirit led, mission focused, Kingdom minded churches. Recognizing that no single denomination will be able to reach everyone in Canada alone, we are stronger when we work together; therefore C2C is unapologetically interdenominational. At the same time, we whole-heartedly support denominations and sending churches as the primary partners in church planting (for us that is the ACOP).
Outreach / Mission Partners
We believe we can go further faster with the help of others. Whether that is people in our church, denomination, ministries we support or who support us, or community organizations serving Kingdom purposes; we know that there are people doing things we are better to join with than ever do on our own.
Our founder was deeply impacted during a Global Leadership Summit many years ago, by a Harvard Business professor who asked church leaders why they did everything on their own, instead of partnering with organizations that could scale the work of helping others in a way that was cost effective and a good use of volunteer’s time? This professor talked about food banks, refugee work, and a number of other initiatives which churches often try to do on their own, but would be far more efficient if partnering with others. We want to cooperate where we have common objectives and can share our resources to have a bigger impact than we could alone.
So, we value the opportunity to learn from others and support their God given vision. We want to make our communities a better place to work, live, and play, and if that means choosing to partner with others for greater impact that is what we will do. There are many Kingdom partnerships we are involved in locally and globally. Take time to learn how we are partnering with them in making what they do better for our community.
So here are a number of the ministries and organizations we support financially from a portion of the total donations given by people at our church or organizations who we partner with through the people who attend our church. We also encourage our people to partner with their time, sometimes collectively and sometimes on their own, because we believe in building Jesus Kingdom not just our own.
The Ottawa Mission
The Ottawa Mission works with people experiencing homelessness and poverty to make a change in their lives. Whether it’s providing a place to sleep and a meal to eat, or offering educational support and job training, The Ottawa Mission helps rebuild lives every day.
There are many ways to support The Ottawa Mission. From donating what you can, to volunteering your time, to advocating for those who need help, every gesture offers hope during hardship. No matter how you help, your support is an incredible gift that provides food, shelter and vital services to hungry, homeless and hurting people in search of a better life. At neighbours church we would encourage you to be involved: two members of our church serve on the board of the Ottawa Mission (one was the former board chair), and as a community we are engaged in a financial partnership to support the ministry and encourage people to take action with their time.
Learn more about the work of the Ottawa Mission and how you can be involved by visiting their website. Know that when you give to Neighbours Church a small portion of what you give to our church, helps support ministries like this one.
Barrhaven Food Cupboard
Barrhaven Food Cupboard is a community-led, non-profit charitable organization that provides food assistance to individuals and families in need in the Barrhaven area through the generosity of our community. It truly is a neighbours helping neighbours initiative.
Once a year, our youth group hosts an event we call Trick of Treat for the Barrhaven Food Cupboard. Teenagers can get volunteer hours by simply collecting non-perishable food items while they go out trick or treating with a friend. It is a simple way for teens to make a big difference in other lives.
In the fall each year we host an outdoor movie night that simply costs a can of food to participate in. All donations of non-perishable food items at this event go to the Barrhaven Food Cupboard.
You can find out more information about the Barrhaven Food Cupboard and how to volunteer. Know that when you give to Neighbours Church a small portion of what you give to our church, helps support ministries like this one.
Matthew House Ottawa – Refugee Initiative
Matthew House Ottawa is a Christian faith-based, volunteer-driven, charitable organization that helps Ottawa’s marginalised population to establish connected, safe, healthy, and dignified homes within our community. As a response to Jesus’ call to care for the stranger (Matthew 25:36). They do this by:
- Providing shelter, food and refugee settlement assistance, including volunteer opportunities, in a family atmosphere to refugee claimants so that they may begin their journey to independence as members in Canadian society; and,
- Distributing quality used furniture and household goods to Ottawa’s marginalised population
At Neighbours Church this ministry is near and dear to our hearts, and so we have partnered with their buddy up program at Matthew House to see people flourish in their new homes in Canada. Once a month, a family from our church takes a turn making a meal at one of the refugee homes and eats dinner with the family. They help the newcomers to Canada practice their English (if that is a need), they answer questions about customs and life in Canada (to help people get settled if that is a need), or they simply offer to become friends that might have some local connections to help find safe places to get a car fixed, insurance, a loan, etc. But more than that, they learn about another culture, share life stories, and have an opportunity to be the love of Jesus to a family that is far from home.
Neighbours Church is also committed to doing the Ride for Refuge every fall in support of ‘Matthew House’ raising funds in our community to donate to this ministry. Know that when you give to Neighbours Church a small portion of what you give to our church, helps support ministries like this one, but your efforts at Ride for Refuge might mean we can give more.
Learn more about the work of the Matthew House Ottawa and how you can be involved by visiting their website.
May Court Club
The May Court Club of Ottawa was founded in 1898 by Lady Ishbel Aberdeen, the wife of the Governor General. In a time when there were no social safety nets, she wanted to provide women with the ability to help other women and their children who were in need. May Court does great work in supporting hospice care in Ottawa and creating scholarships for young people through a variety of fundraising initiatives such as the bargain box used clothing and items store.
If you are a women who is interested in these causes in Ottawa, join other women at our church in becoming a member of May Court, and supporting this important work.
Message Canada
Raising up the spiritual gift of Evangelism in Canada
Message Canada exists to help others share the Christian message in words and actions to young people through creative mission, community transformation and Christ-centred enterprise.
They do this by supporting projects in deprived neighborhoods. One of those examples, is Eden teams, made up of Christians who have chosen to live sacrificially by moving in long-term to share the gospel and see the community transformed from the inside out. Another example of this is the establishment of Advance Groups, who provide a community for gospel-passionate people who want to have a place to grow in their calling as an evangelist. Group members pray for each other, learn, and discuss the biblical gift of the evangelist. And as a result, many will identify themselves as gifted evangelists and grow in developing their gift to serve the Church.
At Neighbours Church we are passionate not just about social justice, but the good news of Jesus ministering through social justice. Jesus cared deeply for people: financially, relationally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We don’t want to provide one piece of the puzzle without caring for the whole person; so it is important for us to share Jesus in both word and deed. Ministries like Message Canada provide a heartbeat that allows us to train people to do this well.
Learn more about the work of the Message Canada and how you can be involved. Know that when you give to Neighbours Church a small portion of what you give to our church, helps support ministries like this one.
Abundant Life Home
At the Abundant life home in Thailand, orphans who have been affected by HIV/AIDS are being welcomed into a loving home in a family environment. The Abundant Life Home provides for their needs, including medical costs, education, support for tutors and nanny salaries, food, rent, and maintenance of the homes.
This ministry also provides support to families on the verge of abandoning children, and invites these families into the church community. Their project “Standing Strong” ministers to women and children at risk. They also go into the local women’s prison to do discipleship, job training and prayer counselling for the women there.
At Neighbours Church we give a small portion of everything that comes into the church to support this ministry in Thailand. You can get involved by sponsoring a child in their program, visiting with us on one of our missions trips to Thailand, or simply by knowing that part of what you give to our church helps support ministries like this one.
Learn more about the work of Abundant Life Home in Thailand and how you can be involved by visiting their partnership site by clicking ‘here’ https://multiply.net/project/abundant-life-home
ACOP Global Harvest Missions
The ACOP Global Harvest Mission, envisions the good news of Jesus Christ being spread throughout the world by making disciples of all nations. Along with people from churches like ours, they intend to achieve this vision by prioritizing missions in areas of the world that will allow them to reach out to those who have little or no access to the gospel. The belief is that those they reach with the good news of Jesus, will inevitably become disciples, who will reach out and make more disciples. With a passionate belief in their core values of: fervent prayer, Holy Spirit empowerment, the Gospel, and making disciples; we are praying along with them as a church to see the nations come to Christ.
Their focus as a mission’s organization is:
- Mobilizing: Sending Workers into the Harvest Field
- Sowing: Planting the gospel among Least Reached People Groups
- Multiplying: Reproducing Indigenous Churches
- Equipping: Developing Leaders to make disciples
- Caring: Standing against injustice and poverty & intervening in crisis situations
Learn more about the work of Global Harvest Missions and how you can be involved. Know that when you give to Neighbours Church a small portion of what you give to our church, helps support ministries like this one.
Sawubona
Sawubona project was created to empower and equip individuals in Southern Africa to envision and create a better future. The name Sawubona Project was birthed while Jeff, Terri and Samara Mazik were living in White River, South Africa (2016-2017) – who are originally from Barrhaven, ON Canada. Sawubona is a common Zulu greeting, which means, "We see you". While living in White River, The Mazik's witnessed the beauty of South Africa's landscape and her people set against a backdrop of the cruel reality of poverty. Life for the majority in South Africa is hard, painfully hard. Jeff and Terri asked Samara, their 9-year-old daughter a simple question, "What do you do when you see someone in need?" "You help them", she said. There are countless ways to help. Sawubona Project has chosen to invest in the lives of youth through Life Skills Training. Being being a part of this mission you are helping to invest in and improve the lives of at risk youth living in Southern Africa by offering a Life Skills program.
Learn more about the work of Sawubona project and how you can be involved. Know that when you give to Neighbours Church a small portion of what you give to our church, helps support ministries like this one.
