Present and future
The aim of this dissertation is to contribute much needed insight into the current and future trends of Christian witness in Vancouver. While the majority of Vancouverites report to Statistics Canada that they have “no religion,” there is little research available regarding Christian activity and response to this increasingly secular context. Lockhart: “My dissertation engages the question of what a thick description of missional interaction with the city of Vancouver might teach us about the motivating beliefs and spiritualities of Christian communities with the aim of contributing to the larger North American discourse on missional theology.”
Spiritual not religious
Christians focus on befriending a “spiritual not religious” culture, affordable housing as a missional connection, specific models of Christian witness, the challenge of sharing the gospel in light of colonialism and Residential Schools, the impact of immigration upon the church in Vancouver, scarce sacred space for churches to worship. Lockhart: “And serve in light of Vancouver’s expensive housing market, and possible missional connections given Vancouverites’ high value placed on the environment and Indigenous culture.”
Defense
Lockhart will defend his research on Thursday 1 December 2022 between 11:45 and 13:15 at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Or watch the live stream.
Christian witness in Vancouver focus on mission via consensus
1 December 2022
Christians in Vancouver focus on mission through relationships, mission and creation care, mission through walking worthily, and mission attending to the future church God that is bringing. This is the conclusion of the research by theologian Ross Lockhart, who also shows examples of how Christian communities are engaging their secular neighbours and finding overlapping consensus on several key social issues.