Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Together, let’s follow God as He leads us

Beyond our Walls

As a lighthouse church in the region, we’re excited to build on our strong 45-year foundation and launch a fresh vision with three vital Pillars we believe God wants us to focus on and strengthen over the next 4 years.  Join us as we courageously ask God to continue to do amazing things, as we spiritually grow as individuals and as a church – expanding our capacity to have an even greater kingdom impact beyond our walls in the Greater Moncton Area, Atlantic Canada, and the World. Like the early church in Acts, let’s not limit what God can do in transforming our world.

For Families

We desire to equip parents to pursue a culture of intentional families, building into our children and students, so that they are raised to honour God with their whole lives for life. Hillside is a tremendous place to help raise a healthy family.
REALITY: Families have complexities. Many marriages are struggling; parents and grandparents feel ill-equipped for their roles. Our programs for children and students wrestle with shifting cultural dynamics, inconsistent attendance due to busyness, volunteer needs, and the challenges of ageing learning spaces. These programs must move forward to transform into places where kids and students beg to attend, build lasting friendships, and develop a lifelong faith. What an opportunity we have as an Atlantic Canadian Church to strengthen families so that those around us will see a difference in our families and be attracted to Jesus Christ.

For Families Objectives

We will launch new initiatives to strengthen and resource families so that parents and grandparents can fulfil their God-given purpose of passing on the faith to the next generation. As their MVP (Most Valuable Partner), we will invest in a world-class resource called Home Point, offer practical learning opportunities including an innovative family conference(s), and implement a children’s discipleship pathway to provide a proactive approach to build strong families.

We will process the next steps toward developing a plan to improve our current Children’s spaces so that they become fantastic gathering spaces for them.

We will continue to expand our Sunday KidZone Special Needs’ ministry to show our love for all families and to provide parents of those with special needs an opportunity to worship together.

We will expand Sonshine Kids Academy (SKA) to include pre-school ages, thereby addressing a growing need in our community for quality, faith-based care. As well, this will enable us to steward our building well, and to provide another bridge to our community to meet Jesus.

For Community

We desire that each person in our church community and beyond connect deeply with God and each other, and live out their full God-given potential to those they interact with each day.
REALITY: We were made for community. Life change happens best by spending time with God and being rooted in a spiritual community. In our culture today, people are increasingly isolated and live at a frenzied pace. Imagine what God could do, if more of us had an intentional time with God each day and connected with at least six meaningful relationships that allow us to call out the best in each other. Experiencing vital community with others is both essential and biblical (Acts 2:42-47) and that’s why we, as a church, endeavour to grow both larger and smaller at the same time.

For Community Objectives

We will expand our capacity to reach more people for Christ by providing additional service times. We will offer more opportunities for people – whether active believers or those who are exploring their faith – to experience church community.

We will be intentional about embracing and integrating newcomers to Canada into our Hillside community. Recognizing that Moncton is seeing more and more newcomers to Canada, we want to provide a welcoming and supportive environment in what can sometimes be an uncertain time. Are you a newcomer to Canada? We’d Love to connect with you! Fill out this form and we’ll be in touch. Click Here

We will provide new opportunities during peak attendance times to be with each other in social settings and to enjoy our expanded food services. This will meet a need for greater community enabling us to connect with each other more often as a church family.

We will make it as easy as possible for everyone in our church to get connected into community. We want everyone to feel needed and known – and this means helping them to find a meaningful serve and meaningful connection in a growth group.

 

 

 

 

 

For The World Around Us

We desire to generously extend God’s compassion and hope to our city, Atlantic Canada, and the world.
REALITY: Our city and our world are full of people who are in need physically and spiritually. We believe the church is God’s Plan A to respond to these needs. Sadly, there are also far too many churches that are struggling and discouraged. With a culture of generosity and a kingdom mindset, we also recognize that the Lord has significantly blessed our church with momentum, training, and resources. Let’s break out, serve others, and share God’s love.

For The World Around Us Objectives

We will make an intentional push to further engage outside our building by strengthening our local partnerships (ie our anchor causes). This will be a positive witness showing we are FOR Moncton and the world around us.

We will strengthen our current global partnerships and prayerfully establish a new global partnership with a like-minded organization that is already “on the ground”.

We will be a greater encouragement to strengthen other churches in our region and we will also start a ministry internship program for students. It’s our hope to send out many leaders to grow and strengthen other churches throughout Atlantic Canada and beyond.

We will leverage the ever-expanding influence of technology in more strategic ways to advance the kingdom in our region and beyond.

There are 3 ways you can embrace this exciting journey with us by living out our 3 expectations for Hillsiders

CELEBRATE

Purposefully engage with God and our church community more consistently by making Sunday worship a greater priority for you and your family.

CONNECT

Intentionally deepen your faith, commit to community, and experience the gift of vital community with others

CONTRIBUTE

Generously give, through Hillside, both your time and your financial resources enabling us to invest more hope into the world around us.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why was the theme Beyond Our Walls chosen?

Based on Acts 1:8, this theme was strategically chosen because it reflects God’s heart for the church to have a growing impact for good beyond its walls. Our desire is to courageously follow God as He leads us into the future. Our theology instructs us that a healthy church gathers for worship, community, inspiration, and training and then intentionally scatters to bring blessing and hope to others.  Building on the momentum of our church’s exciting 2020 Vision, we believe God is calling us to expand our capacity for an even greater kingdom impact upon our city, region, and world.  This vision, then, reflects our desire to never get comfortable or lose our outward focus as a church. Complacency is not an option! We’ve been blessed to be a blessing to others.

How do each of the 12 objectives reflect this theme?

Each of the 12 objectives were prayerfully chosen to ensure that we have an even greater kingdom impact beyond our walls in the years ahead. Whether by attracting more people (who are currently outside our walls) to our building by meeting practical needs for encouragement, hope, and belonging in the lives of children, families, and newcomers to Canada; or, by launching fresh initiatives to strengthen Christ-centered families and deepen more believers in their faith, the result will be a much greater overall impact beyond our walls. As individuals and families live out their faith, we see God’s light shining even brighter through their positive witness in our communities, neighbourhoods, schools, and workplaces. This impact will also certainly be seen as we generously invest more of our time and resources to strengthen our local and global partners, while also encouraging and serving the church (capital C) in our region and beyond.

Why is the vision limited to 2023 and not longer?

Beyond our Walls is meant to represent the next chapter in Hillside’s unfolding story. Realizing that things are changing so rapidly in today’s world, a 3-4 year vision still represents a significant roadmap to guide us over the next few years, while also allowing for some flexibility as needed to navigate our ever-changing world. Building upon the great success of our 2020 Vision, the year 2020 will serve as a crossover year as we progress from the completion of the 2020 Vision and then begin to move into 2021-2023. There is great excitement as we move into this next chapter.

With a vision to add more church services and reach more people for Christ, won’t we lose our sense of community as we get larger?

Change is always inevitable with growth, however, maintaining the status quo is simply not an option. As a Great Commission church, there are 150,000 people in the Greater Moncton area and the vast majority of them (80-90%) do not have a meaningful connection to a community of faith. Each number has a name and represents a son, daughter, friend, neighbour, colleague, classmate, or grandchild who matters to God and therefore matters to us. Given this significant spiritual need, how can we not respond with an even greater desire to share the Good news of God’s love with others in our city? As the Apostle Paul said in 2 Cor. 5:14, “The love of Christ compels us”. Now, with the anticipated growth, our vision is to maintain and even deepen the sense of community we enjoy as a church family. In fact, several of the objectives speak to the importance of strengthening community. This includes opportunities for more fellowship during peak attendance times as well as new systems and strategies to make it easier for every Hillsider to get connected to a meaningful serve and a meaningful growth group. Don’t forget, too, that the early church was essentially a mega church from Day 1 (Acts 2:42-47) when 3,000 people became believers. Like the early church, we have a commitment to grow larger AND smaller at the same time.

Who will champion each of the objectives in this exciting vision?

That’s a great question! If the Vision Team had clarity on how each of these objectives would be resourced and led from the outset, then the likelihood is that our vision is too small. We intend to continue to prayerfully seek God together as we further discern, rally, and take next steps during the crossover year and beyond. It’s our intent to trust that God will continue to raise up champions and teams to see these initiatives fulfilled. We also realize that given the size and scope of the vision, it won’t all be implemented overnight. Rather, it will be implemented in phases as the Lord leads over the next few years. We intend to trust God one step at a time knowing that as He has faithfully led us in the past, He will continue to lead us into the future.

I’m excited, but how can I get involved in making the vision happen?

Ultimately, nothing great ever happens without passion. As a high devotion church with a heart to reach out beyond our walls, it will take all of us as Hillsiders to be fully engaged in order to see this vision become a reality. The expectations for every Hillsider are represented in our 3 C’s. If every Hillsider committed to the 3 C’s it would certainly go a long way toward seeing the beyond our walls vision for greater kingdom impact become a reality. The 3 C’s are: “Celebrate” (prioritize weekly worship); “Connect” (participate in a Growth Group); and “Contribute” (by generously serving and giving to support our shared ministry). Therefore, beyond seeking to significantly raise the level of 3 C’s engagement within our whole church family, we will also be inviting people to prayerfully consider which of the objectives speaks to their heart. From there, they will be encouraged to take steps toward helping in those areas of personal calling and giftedness.