A church is people.

It’s not a building. At different times, we’ve met in a house, a coffee shop, a park, a board game café, on Zoom, and more recently, in a big old cathedral complete with stained glass, a bell tower, a pipe organ, and maybe some ghosts. A church isn’t a place; it’s people.

A church is Christian.

The core claim of our faith is that Jesus didn’t stay dead: three days after He died to reconcile us to God, He was alive again. We call this the “Gospel” (aka “Good News”) and it’s what we gather to remember. No matter what you’ve done or what’s been done to you - whether you’re a new or longtime Christian, or not sure, Jesus Christ stands ready to welcome you, and so do we. If you sense Him drawing you in too, come with us to explore what the Gospel means for your life, and for the city!

A church is a community.

A community is literally a group with a ‘common-unity’. It might be in yoga, gluten-free food, dogs, or karaoke; every community has distinctive practices and beliefs, and a church is no different. We want ours to be safe, life-giving, and simple. We hold different views on a variety of subjects and questions, and none of us gets his or her way all the time. But with Jesus at the centre, we can surrender our individual preferences and egos so we can be one: seen, heard, known, loved, and together in community.

A church has a culture

No two churches have the exact same culture. Many of us in Benediction have a church background. For some, it was healthy, but for others, it wasn’t. Some of us have very little if no prior exposure to church culture. All our experiences, beliefs, attitudes, and actions form our church’s culture. What’s the culture of Benediction like?

We enjoy many of the benefits of being a small church (e.g., close personal friendships, simple ministry) while being connected to larger groups (e.g., True City Hamilton, The Associated Gospel Churches of Canada).

We’re more interested in spreading God’s Kingdom than growing our church.

We’re more committed to carrying our cross than “taking a stand” in the wider culture wars.

We talk about “justice” and “mission” and “blessing our city” more than “evangelism” and “outreach”.

We talk more about BEING the Church than “going to church”.

We believe the point of the Christian life is becoming like Jesus: believing what He believed, loving what He loved, and doing what He did.

We love Scripture, and sermons, and liturgy, and prayer, and singing hymns, and bread and wine, and coffee-after-church, and lots of other traditions.

We don’t expect you to dress a certain way, cut your hair, cover your tattoos, or stop drinking, smoking, or cussing.

Our expectations for leaders are different than for members and guests because leadership is a sacred trust, not a right.

A church has a purpose.

Jesus said He’d build His Church and not even the gates of hell would withstand it. As Jesus was sent into the world, so Jesus sends us: to love and bring Good News. And one day - hopefully soon - it’ll be in our hearts, our homes, our workplaces, and in Hamilton as it is in heaven. That’s why we do this. If that vision inspires you as much as it does us, you’ll be right at home here.