Jonathan Lambert on Planting Experience Church, Pioneering ARC in Canada, and Keeping the Scrappy Spirit
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In this conversation, Jason sits down with Jonathan Lambert, lead pastor of Experience Church in Calgary and Executive Director of ARC Canada, to talk about church planting, pioneering a church planting network in Canada and what it looks like to keep a scrappy founder's spirit through organizational growth and change.
Jonathan traces his path from leading worship as a teenager in a Pentecostal church, into a worship role at Christian Life Assembly in Langley, and eventually to a defining season in Fort McMurray. There, newly stepped away from vocational ministry and unsure what was next, he had what he describes as a wake-up call in a grocery store: a profound conviction that calling belongs to every believer, not just to a platform or a job title. That shift led him and his wife Natasha into youth ministry in a local church, and then led them to plant Experience Church in Calgary in 2012.
Jason and Jonathan also dig into how Experience Church came to pioneer ARC (Association of Related Churches) in Canada, now responsible for planting 25 churches nationally. Jonathan talks candidly about the tension of staying scrappy as an organization grows, the K-12 hybrid school Experience Church started to make Christian education more accessible, and the free summer camp they run for pastors' families on Vancouver Island.
Jonathan makes the case for consistency over leaps of faith, and for what he calls "the spiritual six pack," daily habits of word, prayer, and worship, paired with a regular rhythm of tithing, fasting, and serving, as the real engine behind a transformational life and a healthy church.
In this episode you'll hear:
How growing up in a Pentecostal church shaped Jonathan's love for spiritual encounter,
The grocery store moment in Fort McMurray that reframed calling as something every believer carries,
Why Jonathan and Natasha turned down joining a friend’s church plant in San Diego to stay in Canada and plant in Calgary instead,
What it took to pioneer ARC in Canada, and the encouragement they received from the team at ARC USA,
Why Experience Church started a K-12 hybrid school to make Christian education accessible for families who can't afford traditional private school,
The story behind ARC Canada's free summer camp for pastors' families, and why proximity between pastoral families is its own form of pastoral care,
Why leaps of faith are a subtle danger, and what Jonathan calls "the spiritual six pack," the daily and regular habits that build a steady life.
Jonathan Lambert
Jonathan Lambert is the lead pastor of Experience Church in Calgary, which he and his wife Natasha planted in 2012, and the Executive Director of ARC Canada (Association of Related Churches), helping churches across the nation launch and thrive. Jonathan and Natasha have four children, Chloe, Ayzee, Tanix, and Zarah.
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