One-on-One on Toronto's Missions Hub

By amazon Thursday, December 26, 2019 Comment Edit

One-on-One with Phil Reinders and Khenva Dave on Missions Hub, a network of missions agencies, churches, and groups on the University of Toronto campus that are committed to sharing the good news of Christ.

Ed: Tell me about the Missions Hub.

Phil: The Missions Hub originated from a question: “Can we create a collaborative coworking space for mission agencies where largely under-funded, probably solitary mission workers or agencies might be able to find a sense of community?”

The hope was that there would be a good sense of growing collaboration within different missions. We also thought that a shared workspace would create a sense of community among different missions groups.

Khenva: I get to work collaboratively with Knox Church and for different missions agencies, including OMF Canada, TEAM Evangelical Alliance Mission, WIC of Bible translators, and Avant Ministries.

My job is primarily as a collaborative mobilizer. I engage with students mostly at the University of Toronto, but I also work with others who are figuring out what missions looks like for them. My job often includes putting on events to engage with missions, leading prayer meetings to learn how to pray well for different nations, and training groups of students to mobilize on their campuses.

Ed: Knox Presbyterian Church is the home of Missions Hub. How has the vision for Missions Hub connected to the life of the church? Do people see Missions Hub and know that it’s connected to Knox Presbyterian Church?

Phil: Knox has a long history of missional engagement, but more recently has wrestled with how to engage the new realities of mission in the world. We always ask how we can engage the next generations into our missional work.

Missions Hub has become one of the primary ways that university students are exposed to the mission of God across the world. We’ve seen a lot of interaction between participants in the Missions Hub who are not all from Knox ...