In 2009, a year after a book came out describing the young, restless, reformed movement, a group of pastors started meeting in Toronto. They wanted to encourage each other and find ways to work together. It began as a pastor’s fraternity, a group of friends who cared for the city and wanted to see what the Lord might do in Toronto.
In 2010, we decided to invite our churches to get together for a joint Good Friday service. We met in a church on the east side of Toronto and were shocked at how many people came. At the last minute, we scrambled to pull enough elements together to serve communion at this joint Good Friday service.
Ever since then, we’ve continued to meet as a group of pastors. The group has changed over the years. Three of the original members still continue to meet: one Presbyterian: Dan MacDonald, pastor of Grace Toronto, and two Baptists: Paul Martin, pastor of Grace Fellowship Church Toronto, and me, pastor of Grace Fellowship Church East Toronto.
Every year, we bring our congregations together for a Good Friday service under the umbrella of the Toronto Gospel Alliance, and we invite a few likeminded friends and their churches to join us as they’re able. The first service, as mentioned above, was held in one of our churches. The next year, we moved to the Winter Garden Theatre in downtown Toronto, a historic theatre on Yonge Street. Then for five years, we met at Convocation Hall at the University of Toronto. Since then, we’ve been meeting at St. Paul’s Bloor Street, a large church in downtown Toronto. We took a few years off due to the pandemic but restarted the services again in 2023.
Toronto used to be called the City of Churches. Increasingly, many of these church buildings have been turned into condos or taken over by theatres or temples. Sometimes it can seem that the church is facing cultural headwinds and that the gospel isn’t making as many inroads into the city as we would like.
And then once a year, we get together—some 1,500 people centred around the cross of Christ. We sing, hear God’s word read and preached, and stand united around the gospel. It’s only one service a year, yet it feels like something more.
Paul Martin, pastor of Grace Fellowship Church Toronto, says, “I love standing together with brothers and sisters across the city to say, ‘We still believe in Jesus. We think He is the only Saviour the world will ever get. And you must repent from your sins and believe on Him in order to be saved.’ And to do that with my Presbyterian, Independent, Reformed, and fellow Baptist friends, representing nations from all over the world in this, the most culturally-diverse city in the world, well, that is just the bee’s knees. All glory to our King.”
We’re going to be meeting again this April 18th, and God willing for many years to come. We’re surprised that God has allowed us this blessing and will continue to enjoy it as long as he allows.
