About Us

Why 1Life? Why do we exist?

In 2014, a CRCNA-wide inquiry was made into the challenges of what it means to be “church” in a post-Christendom age. What are we called to today as we, along with so many North American churches, face loss of membership, material resources, cultural influence and even confidence in the gospel?

After the Strategic Planning & Adaptive Change (SPACT) conversation passed through our two BC classes, a group of pastors and other ministry equippers sent out an invitation to attend a retreat with our BC CRCs specifically in mind. Nine people gathered at Adagio House in Abbotsford for three days of prayer and fasting. We opened the books of Nehemiah and Matthew, and read those texts through the lens of our communities as well as our own losses and questions. By the retreat’s end, we sensed that the words of Isaiah –in repentance and rest is your salvation -best summarized what we had heard from God for our churches: repentance for too many years of confused motives and trying to fix relationships by fixing structures; rest from the heavy armour of trying to control outcomes humanly and invitation to sit for awhile under the Tree of Life and attend to the deeper longings of our hearts. Read more about repentance and rest here.

Slow forward to 2018, at which time a desire for renewal had been expressed and acted upon by both BC classes. A group of equippers began meeting every 3-4 months specifically to wonder if the “smorgasbord” of equipping opportunities available to our BC CRCs could be integrated into a more thoughtful & healthier “menu” (several had attended the prayer retreat and co-authored its conclusions).

Eventually, a request to both classes from this group and supported by Resonate Global Mission, resulted in the March 2020 approval of a bi-classical team with a mandate to coordinate equipping efforts and promote collaboration between Classis BC NW & SE. 1Life: An Equipping & Learning Collective is the result of that team’s work to date.

1Life’s deep hope is to offer our BC CRCs something more than an integrated calendar of equipping events. Our desire is to curate an intentional “curriculum-for-Christ-likeness” out of the some multitude of tools & resources currently available; a curriculum that allows for deep theological reflection on each of the five callings of the church. In this way, 1Life’s hope is to participate in the recovery of persuasive and meaningful access to the gospel story and its transforming vision for our troubled time.

Please read our vision, mission, and values. These statements are the result of many passionate, hospitable conversations. We hope they become yours because, after all, we are:

1Life as two BC classes;
1Life as a CRC denomination;
1Life with the whole creation, groaning its way to new birth;
1Life in Christ Who is all and in all.