Called to Meaning: How Christian Teens and Young Adults Understand Vocation in a Canadian Context
Flourishing Congregations Institute’s Director and Associate Directors – Drs. Joel Thiessen, Arch Wong, and Katie Steeves
Author: Sophia Isfeld
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Insights for Hope: Leaning into Your Church’s Story
Katie Steeves, Associate Professor of Sociology, Trinity Western University; Jason Burtt, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Trinity Western University
Ancient Wisdom, Modern Mind: Reimagining the Church as Neighbour and Hospital
Ejay Tupe, Urban Missionary, the Director of the Toronto Urban Missions Hub, and PhD student in Contextual Theology
Weaving Threads of Co-Vocational Ministry: A Framework for Thriving Congregational Leadership in Canada
Rebecca Heringer, Co-Vocational Canada Researcher at Briercrest College and Seminary; Ellen Duffield, Adjunct Professor of Leadership and Management at Briercrest College and Seminary
Why Every Church Needs a Better Story
Every church tells a story. The question is: Is it the right one?
In a recently-released episode of the Future Christian Podcast, Loren Richmond Jr. spoke with Joel Thiessen, professor of Sociology and director of the Flourishing Congregations Institute at Ambrose University, about The Stories Congregations Tell, a research project exploring why some churches flourish through seasons of transition while others struggle.
Drawing on case studies from congregations across Canada, Thiessen argues that the stories churches tell about their past, present, and future profoundly shape their identity, leadership, and mission.
The conversation explores how congregations develop a healthy sense of identity without becoming trapped by nostalgia, why flourishing is about far more than numerical growth, and how local churches are constantly shaped by the wider cultural stories surrounding them. Thiessen also explains why sociology can help churches understand themselves more honestly—not to replace theology, but to deepen it.
Congregational Flourishing in a Canadian Context
This video is part of the Maple Spirit Pulse video series from the Institute for Religion, Culture and Societal Futures (IRCSF) at the University of Waterloo.
In this video, Joel Thiessen, Professor of Sociology, Chair of the Social Sciences department, and Director of the Flourishing Congregations Institute at Ambrose University, explains the concept of flourishing congregations, and what this phenomenon currently looks like in the Canadian context.Twenty participants from across Canada—12 denominational leaders and 8 CoVo pastors representing 17 different denominations—engaged in in-depth conversations about co-vocational ministry.
The Varied Landscape of Women’s Church Experiences
Lindsay Callaway, Senior Researcher, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
Self-Spirituality in your Church: Implications for Discipleship
Sam Reimer, Professor of Sociology at Crandall University.
The Spiritual Discipline of Deconstruction
Angela Reitsma Bick, Editor for Christian Courier and Co-Author of Blessed are the Undone: Testimonies of the Quiet Deconstruction of Faith in Canada
Thriving Co-Vocational Congregations: Six Key Areas for Consideration by Pastors, Denominational Leaders, and Congregants
In the summer of 2025, Co-Vocational Canada launched a new study to better understand the characteristics of thriving co-vocational (CoVo) congregations in Canada. The term “co-vocational/co-vocationality” is here used as an umbrella term to reflect the lived experience of a pastor who is appointed to serve in a local church while also working in outside employment.
Twenty participants from across Canada—12 denominational leaders and 8 CoVo pastors representing 17 different denominations—engaged in in-depth conversations about co-vocational ministry.