With 20 staff and a million-dollar budget, Hillhurst United in Calgary is an anomaly within The United Church of Canada. If you’re a longtime United Church member, you might have even heard of it. Clearly, this congregation is doing something right. But what, exactly is it?
Former evangelical pastor Doug Schroeder came to Hillhurst 12 years ago, shortly after blessing his daughter’s same-sex marriage — a gesture that ended his relationship with his evangelical church. He knew that Hillhurst was an Affirming congregation, but it was the warm welcome and focus on cultural relevance that kept him coming back. As a preacher himself, he was impressed with lead minister Rev. John Pentland’s ability to speak from his own life experience with complete vulnerability. “I didn’t want Biblical exposition without human connection and I get that at Hillhurst,” he says.
Pentland has been the minister at Hillhurst since 2004. Under his leadership, the congregation grew from 40–50 people on Sundays to about 350 worshippers every week, both in person and online.
Pentland’s predecessor had laid the groundwork for innovation, clearing the decks for him to bring radical change to a church facing closure. Using his recent work experience at United Way, along with lessons from his previous churches, Pentland immediately started on the work of transformation. “It was several years of strong lay leadership and a congregation that continually said ‘yes’ — That made the difference creating change,” he says.
When asked the reasons for Hillhurst’s success, Pentland names three practices: “Be curious about the people who are not there as well as those who are present. Engage in public theology and speak to the community using different forms of media and lastly, never be afraid to take a risk.”
The church has 20 ongoing programs, including book clubs, social justice groups, contemplative practices and a speaker series.
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Hillhurst recently added a second location, about a 20-minute drive away, after another United church closed its doors. A ministry student runs contemplative practice-based programs there, including daily “mindful mornings” from 7:00 -7:30 a.m., Wednesday evening worship followed by a meal, along with other spiritual practices throughout the week.
Other congregants feel the same warmth that Schroeder does.
Hearing the words, “you are loved, forgiven and set free” during worship every week has had a tremendous impact on member John Glenney. “It touches you in a very deep place,” he says. “Many people have never been told these things and it can be life changing.”
Glenney also appreciates that there is no sense of hierarchy in the church, and there are a multiplicity of speakers every week. “When there is a baptism, the parents always share why they are having their child baptized and that really builds connection,” he says.
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Anne Yates Laberge is an active Hillhurst member and church consultant. She believes that if churches want to grow, they need to very clearly design their ministry to draw in new people.
“We take our online ministry very seriously and have invested financial resources in it and as a result we have people from all over the world joining us for our weekly programs and in worship,” she says. That investment has paid off — last year, the church’s two largest donors attend exclusively online.
Pentland says that there is “no secret sauce” to Hillhurst’s growth, but in a time of United Church decline, the congregation is a success story worth studying.
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Rev. Christopher White is a United Church minister in Hamilton.
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