How You Can Help:
There are 3 tangible ways you can help:
1) PRAY! Pray for an equitable settlement with Parks Canada. Pray for wisdom for the leadership.
2) We are looking to raise $500,000 for this project. If the vision excites you, please consider donating. Donations can be made by e-transfer, cash, or cheque. Please provide your full name and address if you would like a tax receipt.
Cheques should be made out to Jasper Park Baptist Fellowship and mailed to box 748, Jasper, AB T0E1E0
e-transfers can be sent to jasperparkbaptistchurch@gmail.com
3) If you or your group are able to assist in any of the following areas: floor repair/refinishing, wall patching and painting, a new sidewalk, and new kitchen installation; please contact steve@cbwc.ca.
Project Updates:
November 2022 – Beginning the Design Phase
An exciting new stage of the project has begun! Bob Anderson of RMA Construction and Design has graciously agreed to donate his time to design the new facility. Bob has experience with church architecture and residential construction that will be a valuable addition to our team.
Ben Giesbrecht of McElhanney Engineering has generously completed the survey of the property pro bono to give Bob the information he needs to begin the design.
Our first meeting with the municipal authority, Parks Canada, went well and they have provided valuable guidance so we can move forward with any variances and zoning required.
September 2022 – Jasper Lutheran Gifts Their Property to Kurios
It’s official! The Lutheran Church of Jasper has decided to gift their beautiful property to Jasper Baptist/Kurios. Jasper Baptist will now sell their existing property to a developer to fund the construction of the new facility for Kurios.We are grateful to the Lutherans for their decision to see this prominent landmark in the town of Jasper retained for Christian purposes. With this generous gift, the project is now moving ahead. We thank God for bringing us this far in the process.
See the exciting announcement here.
July 2022 – Kurios Presents Their Vision to Jasper Lutheran
After several months of meetings with the Baptist denomination, Kurios, and Jasper Baptist, our team put together a detailed proposal to the Lutheran Congregation. We presented our proposal in person on July 9 in competition with 5 other interested local non-profits. The competition is tight, but we are the only organization seeking a Christian use for the property and we pray the Lutheran congregation will be excited to see their church continue to bring the gospel to Jasper.
Our dream is to move Jasper Baptist to the Lutheran sanctuary. We would then sell our existing property (valued over $1,000,000) to a developer and use the proceeds to construct a dormitory for Kurios to house 25 students. Our initial estimates put the cost of such a project at about $1,500,000-$1,700,000, so we will need to raise additional funds to complete the construction to give Kurios a home in Jasper.
You can read our detailed proposal here.
February 2022 – Jasper Baptist and Kurios Agree to move Kurios to Jasper
Kurios is the Baptist denomination’s new gap year program founded in 2020 based in a rented summer camp near Red Deer, Alberta. The program seeks to bring 25 recent high school graduates together to study scripture, develop their relationship with Christ, and grow in maturity in a Christian Community from September to April. You can read more about the program here.
Kurios stayed in the Jasper Baptist Church on a road trip through Jasper in January and led the Sunday service that week. After meeting the Jasper Baptist leadership team, Kurios was excited about the prospect of relocating the program from Gull Lake, Alberta to Jasper. The allure of the mountains would increase enrolment and a permanent facility would provide a stable base for the ministry to grow. Jasper would benefit from a significant influx of young, energetic Christians serving and witnessing in the community.
December 2021 – The Dream is Born
Jasper Baptist is a tiny faithful congregation that has ministered to Jasper since the 60’s. They have 20 individuals involved in the congregation, though many Sundays will see only a handful in the pews. The leadership team knew their ministry needed to shift to continue to be sustainable and to better reach their community.
The Jasper leadership team had heard that the Lutheran Church had closed their doors and were looking for proposals to take over their building. The leadership team started to pray about how the Lutheran Property could be used to further God’s Kingdom in Jasper. One idea stood out to them – bringing a gap year program in the style of Torchbearers to Jasper. Gap year programs are a growing trend among recent high school graduates. Students take an intentional year to focus on identity development, experiencing the world, and learning to work before they start a career or post secondary studies. Research shows students who attend Christian gap year programs are 40% more likely than their peers to continue attending church into adulthood. These programs are an effective ministry to set young adults on the right path as they leave home for the first time.
Jasper is an internationally renowned tourist destination with a tiny Christian presence. A gap year program based in Jasper would have instant allure attracting students from around the globe. The program would not only teach the students, but it would be a blessing to the community as well. The students would bring the critical mass needed on Sunday mornings for Jasper Baptist to better reach their community. The program would teach the students outreach and the potlucks, games nights, and Alpha Courses run by the students would bring community members into church where Jasper Baptist could continue ministering to them. Sharing expenses with a gap year program would ease the financial strain of Jasper Baptist making their ministry more sustainable.
After arriving at this vision, the leadership team began eagerly discussing how this could become reality.