Beyond the pew: Sharing space, sharing Christ

In northeast Calgary, considered one of the most diverse communities in Canada, you might look in one direction and think you are in India, and another direction, Africa. Here, St. Paul Lutheran Church sits on a busy street with pedestrians passing by from all over the world. And from the pews of our little church, as you look around you, you can see members from any one of 20 different countries.

As we seek to share the good news of Christ, we face a constant challenge. How do we communicate the gospel well when English is a second language for most of our members, as well as the people in our neighborhood? How do we share Christ when we face dozens of cultural barriers daily?

Our solution has been this: share Christ’s love through sharing our space. We have begun to turn our once quiet building into a welcoming place for many people who would normally never walk into a church. Through a variety of community partnerships, we show Christ’s love through mercy ministry (good deeds), because our words mean nothing to those who cannot understand our language.

We began our space sharing efforts with a local non-profit called F.O.C.U.S. on Seniors that supports elderly immigrants. Our partnership has provided free clothing giveaways and English as a second language (ESL) classes at our building. The partnership eventually got us invited to speak about the topic of bereavement to a gathering of 75 immigrants who had recently arrived in Canada. The gathering consisted of mostly Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus. We took the opportunity to share the hope we have during times of grief because of Christ’s resurrection.

Another opportunity showed itself in May 2025 within the Indian community. Our neighborhood shut down to accommodate a parade, Nagar Kirtan, hosted by adherents to the Sikh religion, involving approximately 100,000 people flooding the streets. The day of the parade, a group of passionate St. Paul volunteers welcomed many Sikhs into our church to use our restrooms and fill up their water bottles. We gave tours of the church and shared the gospel with many who had never heard it. One Sikh man joined our Bible class as a result. In addition, we hung a large banner presenting the gospel from our main entrance and facing the parade route. It’s possible tens of thousands encountered this message of Jesus.

Turning toward our African neighbors, a few years ago, we met a man named Bayak, a refugee from South Sudan who joined our church. He told us that not long after he came to Canada, he ran into another refugee living on the street whom he used to know back in a camp in Africa. This man had also come to Canada for a better life. But “this is life in Canada,” he said.

This experience led Bayak to become a founder of a humanitarian organization, Nile CAPD, which supports Sudanese refugees experiencing homelessness. We decided to walk alongside Bayak in this. Working together, we host free community dinners, parenting workshops, and volunteer training sessions at the church. In June 2026, we are holding a job seeking workshop, primarily funded by WELS Christian Aid & Relief, with local WELS volunteers sharing job-seeking skills. Nearly every month, we see new Sudanese coming to our worship services and growing in the good news of Jesus. Today, the South Sudanese community has the largest ethnic group within our church.

Through space sharing, we have opened the doors to more impactful cross-cultural ministry. It has given us unique insights into the needs of our community, both physically and spiritually, and has provided us at St. Paul with opportunities to build connections and witness Christ across cultures to the people living right here.

Written by Rev. Chester Reinemann, pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Calgary, Alberta, Canada