When the early church gathered, their worship overflowed into every part of life. That's our prayer too—that Sanctus would be a church marked by deep devotion, transformed lives, and everyday mission. This is our moment to step forward in faith and build something that lasts.
Why Do We Need a Strategic Plan?
We believe we’re standing at a hinge moment in the life of our church. Like Israel at the Jordan River, we can see what’s ahead, but stepping into it requires faith, courage, and unity.
A strategic plan doesn’t replace trust in God; it’s our faithful response to His prompting. Plan 3 helps us steward people, time, and resources with wisdom. It's so much more than projects or milestones or numbers; it’s about creating intentional moments where more people can meet Jesus and be transformed by Him.
Plan 3 is shaped around a rhythm we see throughout Scripture and in the life of every disciple:
Behold → Become → Be Sent
It’s the rhythm of encountering God, being formed by Him, and joining Him in His mission.
A Church That Grows in Every Direction
By 2030, we’re praying and working toward a church that has:
- 3,600 people attending weekly
- 6,800 people identifying Sanctus as their home church (cumulative over five years)
- 5,000 people actively engaged in at least one Discipleship Dimension (cumulative over five years)
Growth for us isn’t just numerical—it’s spiritual. We want to see people move from curiosity to commitment, from attendance to discipleship, from spectators to fully devoted followers of Jesus.
Discipleship Rooted in Scripture
Our Discipleship Dimensions remain the foundation for how we measure and cultivate spiritual growth:
- Celebrate Big through weekly worship
- Connect Small in authentic communities
- Walk with Jesus through daily spiritual practices
- Share the Work by using Spirit-given gifts
- Engage in Mission by living generously and serving others
As Plan 3 unfolds, we’ll rely even more intentionally on these dimensions—not just to take a pulse on how the church is doing, but to help every person discern their next step toward spiritual maturity.
Creating Meaningful Spaces of Worship
Worship isn’t performance; it’s encounter. It’s the moment we gather as a church family, turn our attention toward God, and make room for Him to move.
From songwriting and musicianship to production and preparation, every detail is crafted to remove distractions and open the door for meaningful moments with Him. We prepare the space; He does the rest.
Plan 3 also invests deeply in raising up the next generation of worship leaders—musicians, vocalists, and creatives who are both skilled and spiritually grounded. Kids, Youth, and Young Adults will continue experiencing live worship environments that shape their faith and give them opportunities to step into leadership.
All of this moves us toward a church marked by Spirit-led, joy-filled worship where people of every age can experience the presence of God.
A Church Formed by the Way of Jesus
Connect Groups: Faith Grows Best Together
Connect Groups are where discipleship becomes relational and tangible. They provide spaces where people notice your spiritual growth, cheer you on when life is heavy, and pray with you as you take your next steps with Jesus. Rooted in Scripture, prayer, and honest relationships, these groups help faith grow in the everyday moments that matter.
Plan 3 strengthens Connect Groups through leader development, a clearer onboarding process for new leaders, increased coaching and support, and expanded opportunities for people to gather in meaningful community.
Our goal by 2030:
40% of our church having participated in a Connect Group
Next Gen: Investing in the Future, Today
Kids, Youth, and Young Adults are not only the next generation; they’re the church right now. Plan 3 takes a holistic approach to discipleship for young people, ensuring they have spaces where they can ask questions, build friendships, hear Scripture taught in age-appropriate ways, and encounter God personally.
Three areas of focus shape this investment:
Strong Sunday environments: gathering spaces with live worship, engaging teaching, and connect groups that help young people feel known and supported.
Equipping parents and leaders: providing tools, training, and encouragement so parents can lead confidently at home, while serve team leaders create consistent and caring environments.
Improved transition pathways: clear strategies that guide kids into Youth, Youth into Young Adults, and Young Adults into wider church life; mentoring moments, welcoming events, and personalized next steps ensure no young person feels lost in the shift.
Prayer Culture: Becoming a Church That Prays
Prayer has always been part of Sanctus, yet Plan 3 calls us to a deeper identity: becoming a church where prayer is central to our culture, shaping how we live, lead, and love our communities.
Key elements of this vision include creating prayer spaces at each site; launching church-wide prayer campaigns; equipping leaders and serve teams to model prayer naturally in all ministries; and mobilizing the congregation to pray over neighborhoods using simple tools, including a Prayer Walk app that helps us track impact and coverage.
As prayer becomes part of our shared rhythm, we believe it will strengthen families, transform communities, and deepen our dependence on God in every season.
Be Sent
Site Expansion: Preparing New Front Doors for Faith
After years of strengthening existing sites, we sense God calling us to move forward again. People across our region are increasingly open to spiritual conversations; many are looking for community, meaning, and hope. Plan 3 positions us to respond with clarity and courage.
By 2030, we plan to launch our sixth site: Sanctus Toronto.
This next step builds on what God has already done east of the Rouge River and prepares new spaces where people can encounter Jesus, grow in discipleship, and find community. Each site becomes more than a Sunday gathering; it serves as a front door to worship, Connect groups, prayer, and mission.
School of Ministry Leadership: Meeting a Critical Need
Across Canada, churches are facing a leadership shortage. Hundreds of pastors retire each year; many seminary graduates are choosing counseling rather than congregational ministry; and thousands of Christian worship buildings are projected to close in the coming decade.
Plan 3 responds to this urgent moment by reigniting our vision for a School of Ministry Leadership.
The School includes a three-track pathway:
Cohort Program: short-term training for gifted serve team members exploring ministry gifts and discipleship skills.
Apprenticeship Program: a one-year immersive role that forms leaders in character, faith, and practical ministry.
Immerse Degree Program: an accredited partnership with Northwest Seminary for formal ministry training.
Together, these tracks cultivate a pipeline of leaders for Sanctus and beyond; they strengthen the Church in Canada by preparing the next generation for faithful, durable ministry.
Alpha: One of Our Most Effective Evangelism Tools
Alpha creates a safe, welcoming space where people can share a meal, ask hard questions, and explore the gospel at their own pace. It remains one of our strongest ways to introduce people to Jesus.
We aim to run Alpha 100 times over five years.
How? Courses will happen at our physical sites, online, and “in the wild”: in workplaces, neighbourhoods, and homes. As our community grows in diversity, we intend to expand Alpha into multiple languages, widening the invitation so more people can explore faith in a way that feels accessible and personal.
100K Campaign: 100,000 Acts of Missional Living
The 100K Campaign calls our entire church to live out the gospel through simple, faithful acts of love. By 2030, we aim to complete 100,000 acts of missional service in Jesus’ name. Some moments will be small—helping a neighbour, praying with a friend, offering a meal—while others will be organized efforts through serve teams, ministries, and international partners.
Three avenues help us reach this goal:
Personal acts: everyday opportunities to demonstrate the love of Jesus.
Group efforts: collective moments of impact flowing from our ministries, serve teams, connect groups, and more.
Community partnerships: ongoing support through our local and global partners.
Each act becomes a seed of hope; together, they create a movement that shapes families, neighbourhoods, and nations. It’s a bold vision, but one grounded in the conviction that Jesus’ love—expressed consistently and creatively—truly makes a difference.
Fuel the Future
Give to the Vision Fund
Everything in Plan 3 — site expansion, deeper discipleship, raising up new leaders, Next Gen investment, Alpha, the 100K Campaign — relies on God’s provision through His people.
Weekly giving sustains the ministry happening right now; worship services, Connect Groups, Kids and Youth gatherings, pastoral care, prayer ministry, and the everyday rhythms that help people walk with Jesus. We rely on your regular giving to deliver ministry in the present day.
Gifts to the Vision Fund powers something different: the future.
It accelerates new initiatives, helps us prepare new sites, strengthens leadership pipelines, and builds the long-term capacity we need for the next five years of ministry.
Your Gift Has Extraordinary Impact This Year
Every gift given to the Vision Fund before December 31 will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $130,000, through the generosity of someone in our church family. This means your investment has double the impact as we step into this next chapter.
And if we reach the match in full, another congregant will contribute an additional $50,000—a remarkable opportunity to multiply kingdom impact.
How You Can Participate
Consider how God may be inviting you to respond:
Give monthly: steady generosity to the General Fund funds ministry today.
Give above and beyond: one-time or monthly recurring gifts to the Vision Fund fuel future ministry, the Plan 3 initiatives.
Give a legacy gift: an opportunity to extend your impact beyond your lifetime.
Every dollar becomes part of a story bigger than us: a story where more people encounter Jesus, grow as disciples, and live sent into the world.
Join Us in Building the Future
Pray; ask God how He’s leading You to give.
Give; invest in the mission and the future of our church.
Step forward with us; let’s build what God is entrusting to us.
