Edmonton Church Welcomes 32 New Members

On Sunday, Oct. 27, First Christian Reformed Church in Edmonton, Alta., welcomed 32 individuals as new members. They were a mixed group—21 newcomers from Nigeria, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda; six men from an addiction recovery program at Edmonton’s Hope Mission; four children of one of the church elders; and one person from the Canadian Reformed Church. “We are happy you are adding your gifts to ours that together we become stronger in our service in the mission God has given this church,” pastor Bernhard VanderVlis told them.

During a potluck meal after the service, 19 more people signed up for new membership classes beginning in the new year, and the congregation celebrated three infant baptisms Sunday, Nov. 10.

The growth is coming after a time of decline for the 114-year old church that has been in its current location since 1947. Total membership was at about 400 between 2003 and 2016, became as low as 283 in the 2023 CRCNA yearbook statistics, and is 317 in the 2024 yearbook—before the most recent welcoming of new members.

Currently serving as an elder, Valentine Ojelede is a key person in the story of what God is doing at First CRC. A school principal and pastor in Nigeria, Ojelede came to Edmonton in 2018. His wife, Gladys, also a pastor, came in 2019. Their four children (among those welcomed into membership Oct. 27) arrived in 2022. Of all the churches they visited, Ojelede said he and his wife felt most comfortable and welcomed at First CRC. “We can see the love of God in this place,” he said. Nine people from Valentine’s former congregation in Nigeria have since arrived and joined First CRC. On staff at Hope Mission, Ojelede encourages the men in its recovery program, as well as refugees seeking shelter at the mission, to attend First CRC.

VanderVlis came to First CRC in 2023, after the church had been without a pastor for three years. Pastoring in Ontario at the time, he had been a missionary to Nigeria for 14 years before that, an experience that he sees as preparation for the current moment. Understanding the cultural gap between Africa and North America has helped him to connect to newcomers, even as each one’s experience is unique. VanderVlis said the church's established members have been open to the changes that come with a new membership population, and he’s pleased.

Matthew Schoonderwoerd is one of the recently joined members who came to First CRC through the Hope Mission recovery program. “We were encouraged to find and attend a church,” Schoonderwoerd said. “Valentine, one of our leaders, began picking us men up every Sunday and bringing us to First church.” Schoonderwoerd said membership classes “showed me just how important we all are to God's body. God has given each and every one of us gifts, and he has instructed us to use those gifts. Being a new member of First CRC, I am praying that God uses me.”