CSC’s NW Campus has humble beginnings. Beginnings that remind us of what it means to depend and wait on God.

It all started with a small group of believers, before they became official members of the CSC family. “When our previous pastor left Grace with no replacement in the summer of 2003, our membership dwindled down from over 300 people to less than 50,” recalled Art Matias, an original Grace Community Church congregation member. “Those who stayed were mature believers and givers. That’s why we survived! The praise band never ceased to lead worship services despite having a smaller congregation.”

Meanwhile, people had been traveling from far and wide to attend weekend services at CSC. Our church had been praying about how to reach more people, become more accessible and impact more lives for Christ. Pastor Henry Schorr already had the multi-site vision in his heart for many years, as had Pastor Lawson Brown, who was serving as one of two Executive Pastors at the time. So, when this small remaining group from Grace Community Church asked to merge with CSC, many saw this as an answer to prayer. “Here was a congregation that was likeminded in their love for Jesus and sense of mission to bring that love to NW Calgary,” said Pastor Lawson.

“God’s plan was for Grace to be light and salt in NW Calgary,” said Art. “It was clear for the Grace congregation that this was the direction God was leading our church.”

It was a match made in heaven — literally. And so, the multisite dream for CSC became a reality in April 2008, with Pastor Lawson appointed to lead the new NW Campus.

But, the hard work was just beginning for CSC and people committed to the new campus. Committed volunteers from the congregation were critical, especially during those early days before CSC had negotiated storage space.

Harry Freisen, a long-time CSC congregation member, remembers those days well. Today he channels his love for the community by volunteering as Lead Usher at NW Campus. In the early days, when NW Campus rented theatre space for Sunday services, he volunteered with set up. “We were literally hauling equipment back and forth between the campuses. The technical side of things was not an insignificant undertaking,” Harry said. “The sound crew had to get there at 7 a.m. and volunteers had to set up the theatres and atrium space right there in the theatre each and every Sunday.”

“To me, that’s community,” said Worship Leader, Mike Schorr. “When people realize, ‘I’m needed to make church happen every single week,’ and they show up and consistently serve, it shows that people here are excited about what God is doing in the northwest area of the city.”

If you’ve ever been to NW Campus, you know that it’s God’s presence reflected through a strong sense of community and service that goes deep into the roots of this congregation.

With this kind of community-building, it didn’t take long before 375 regular attendees of all ages started coming each Sunday. For example, what started with just a handful of individuals in the NW Campus youth group, grew to more than one hundred, with many of them bringing their parents and families to Sunday services.

And when it comes to mission, the buck doesn’t stop at young people. “Older generations have an important calling here,” said Pastor Lawson. “Our heart is to invest in the rising generations, as they long for mentors, for spiritual moms and dads to love them and guide them.”

At NW Campus, Pastor Lawson is passionate about growing “intergenerational missional communities” consisting of parents and their children, as well as seniors. “This is a huge part of our ministry at NW Campus and it’s given me an immense amount of energy and enthusiasm for the future,” he said. As a result, many community groups meet during the week to enjoy a thriving and authentic Christian support network, with congregation members opening their homes to make it all happen.

The concept of intergenerational discipleship is woven through almost every ministry at NW Campus today. Young musicians are “home-grown” as they lead alongside more seasoned musicians. Children’s Ministry Pastor Meagan Harrison and two other part-time moms lead more than 60 volunteers, training many young teens who assist parent leaders in the ministry.

“We all have so much to gain from each other and the fun and connection we have when we’re together is a powerful evangelism tool,” said Pastor Lawson. “When people from the community see Christians loving on each other, it’s a powerful testimony of the love of Jesus.”

BUILD more room for mission in NW Calgary

With humble beginnings in a northwest theatre, NW Campus thrived despite issues that came with meeting in leased facilities, including barriers in service times, which put further constraints on worship, relationship-building after weekend service and ministry activities over the course of the week. Once again, they depended on God and waited on His perfect timing.

Today, our NW Campus currently meets at an interim location, Bearspaw Lifestyle Centre, as we eagerly await the construction of a permanent NW Campus building that will empower us learn together, grow together, have fun together, serve people in the community, and ultimately carry out our mission in NW Calgary.

Our vision is for the construction of a new permanent facility on 10.91 acres of land in Bearspaw, located on 12 Mile Coulee Rd. The Damkar Family, who attend our NW Campus, recently donated this land to build our NW Campus.

“This is ultimately a story about a gift we want to give. We see this land as a gift to the church, a gift to our neighbors, a gift to our seniors who worked hard to build this community and finally a gift to God. When someone asked us why we would give such a valuable piece of land away…we simply responded. ‘When you give a gift to God you give Him the very best,’” said the Damkar family.

We are deeply grateful to the Damkar family for their generosity in providing land at no cost for our new NW Campus facility.

Today, we are asking you to journey alongside us, pray with us, and help us as we raise funds to make the new NW Campus a reality, and further reach people for Christ in our city’s northwest.