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Native Leadership Circle discusses partnership with CNBC

By Harold Campbell

COCHRANE, AB—The Canadian National Baptist Convention’s national advocate for First Nations hopes a recent Native Leadership Circle meeting in Cochrane, Alberta, will be a springboard to further outreach to the First Nations people in Canada.

“I see this first Native Leadership Circle as having a strong impact on our future direction of ministry,” said Donny Coulter, CNBC national advocate for First Nations.

“The purpose of the NLC was to listen to First Nations Christians. If a movement is to ever happen across Canada it will start with people just like those attending this meeting. We must put full stock into what these people are hearing from the Father and then join them and the Father in His work.”

Coulter has worked as a church-planting missionary on the Piikani Reserve in Alberta with the Blackfoot for the past 14 years. He has worked as a partner with Dwight Huffman, CNBC Start team leader, for three years and entered the role as full-time national advocate for First Nations in January.

“Our vision is simply stated,” Coulter said. “We want to encourage First Nations people to plant healthy First Nations churches in a culturally relevant way.”

The recent NLC meeting focused on the past, present and future of First Nations ministries and participants discussed ways that CNBC and Southern Baptist Convention churches could partner with First Nations churches.
In the past, change was often brought by force and Native culture and heritage were condemned. Rules were brought in but without developing meaningful relationships.

“Although this was the norm, there were many who did things right and lives have been impacted,” he said, nevertheless.

For the present, Coulter sees a shift in some circles for Native leadership and an increased sense of mutual respect. This, he said, allows for Native leaders to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to take their rightful place in ministry.
For the future, many Native leaders attending the meeting said they thought that churches would begin to move throughout their communities more, while they also thought First Nations churches would serve as a cultural and contextual expression of faith based on the Word of God and a place of equality for all members.

In addition, he said those attending the meeting said it would be important to have a genuine way to network with other Native fellowships.

To help make this new First Nations church a reality, the participants in the Circle discussed a number of practical suggestions for partnership with the CNBC:

• Form a youth committee to find out what youth believe God is doing and develop opportunities for youth to be on mission with mission conferences and opportunities.
• Develop opportunities for regional discipleship efforts and encouragement for Native believers and new leaders. Special focus is needed on less-accessible communities, while practical tools are needed to develop grassroots leadership and church planting.
• Develop and encourage events such as music festivals and family camps. “First Nations people are event oriented, and they need these times to gather and encourage each other,” Coulter said.
• Look for opportunities to encourage men in church and build stronger family values.
• Develop, distribute and teach a culturally relevant Bible curriculum that all Native people can use effectively.
• Provide and encourage partnerships with other church groups from the CNBC and SBC.

Huffman said he was encouraged by the meeting and saw it as part of the CNBC’s strategy of developing “trust relationships” among different groups across Canada.

“We’re starting to see God develop a network of relationships across cultural and language lines that you don’t normally look for,” he said.

Currently, there are nine CNBC First Nations churches in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Quebec.

Huffman also thanked Coulter and his wife, Dana, for their service to the First Nations.

“They have given their lives for the First Nations peoples,” he said.

Coulter said the next step would be to focus on discipleship and training Christian Natives to reach their communities.

“The perception that ministry can only be done by the ‘outsider’ must be torn down and the biblical view of equality and Holy Spirit empowerment must be taught,” he said. “The work must not be seen as doing something for First Nations people but must be seen as doing ministry with First Nations people.”