Rural and Small town Ministry — led by Rev. Dr. Marc Potvin

Small rural and small town churches have a unique culture. For ministry leaders, the small church may feel like a lonely place to serve—we could refer to them as churches in the shadows. This mentoring group will encourage you and help explore what makes the small church different using the recent Canadian study on small churches. During each meeting, we will look at a topic of interest, share our joys and challenges, and prayer together.  

Marc Potvin is Director of Field Education at the Montreal School of Theology and has decades of pastoral experience in smalltown churches and as a chaplain in the Canadian Armed Force. After completing a BA at Royal Roads Military College, Marc completed the MDiv and DMin at Acadia Divinity College. At MST he oversees field education, provides academic counselling, and teaches on mission and pastoral care.

Congregational Leadership – led by the Rev. Chris Clarke (open)

This group, while also supporting each other in ministry, is focused on what leadership in the church requires today. The group has been exploring Tod Bolsinger’s helpful, and missionally-oriented, book Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territories. 

Rev. Chris Clarke is the pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Ottawa. He is a graduate of The Presbyterian College and has been a part of mentoring groups for a number of years. He also has interests in Christian spiritual practices and blogs at www.christian-spirituality.ca/.  In his spare time, he is an avid cyclist and volunteers with the Ottawa Bicycle Club.

Transitional Ministry – led by the Rev. Jeremy Bellsmith (finishing)

All of our congregations are going through changes.  This group focuses on how those changes can be hope-filled seasons of transformation.  Rooted in the wisdom of the interim ministry network of the PC(USA), these gatherings allow participants to think about issues such as 

• the five projects of the interim season
• helping congregations grieve with hope
• what reactions to expect and how to manage them

Pastoral Leadership through the Challenges – led by the Rev. Chuck Congram (filled)

This group is the longest-standing mentoring group of the program, and is led by the seasoned and gifted (retired) pastor Chuck Congram. The pastoral leaders who join regularly in this group are in various seasons of life and ministry, and continue to pray for each other, support each other, and learn together for ministry.

We might have Glen Smith’s group join, which is not yet confirmed. If so, it will be something like:

Community Engagement – led by Rev. Dr. Glenn Smith (in person Ottawa, filled)

This group is led by missiologist and director of PC’s Master of Theological Studies program, Glenn Smith. The group meets in Ottawa in person and focuses on church planting and making community connections and benefits from Smith’s decades of reflecting on urban missions.