B.C. Churches Organize Literal Mountaintop Experience

On Sunday, Aug. 16, a group from Willoughby Christian Reformed Church in Langley, B.C., and Gateway and Living Hope CRCs in Abbotsford, B.C., formed a worship team to share in a worship service from the peak of Vedder mountain in B.C.’s Fraser Valley.

A total of 15 people, six for the worship team and nine for the tech team, used all-terrain vehicles and 4x4 trucks to carry the equipment up the trail to the 924-meter (3,031-foot) summit. The mountain is public space with free public access, and the church made use of it.

Jeremy Vaandrager, one of the team members said, “A week before the event the forecast showed heavy rain the night of the event, so we started praying. God answered by giving us the hottest day of the summer.” Equipment had to be kept in vehicles with AC running to keep it from overheating.

Lena Blain, a worship team member and the worship director at Living Hope CRC said the event had two purposes: “to share the hope of the gospel message of Jesus Christ with as many people as possible, and to share in joyful worship in God's creation.” The service included hymns, worship songs, Scripture reading, and prayer.

Vaandrager said he “thought this would be a great way to have some fun and worship our creator in his beautiful creation. Our world is hurting so bad lately and needed to have something to smile about and enjoy.”

With the use of generators and satellite dishes, the team was able to livestream the hour-long worship experience on Facebook and YouTube. Within the first day after the event, they had over 4,000 views, which is far beyond the team’s expectations.

Might they do it again? “We haven't talked about doing another worship on the mountain event yet, as it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience!” said Blain. “I know that the volunteers would gladly jump on board again, so we will have to wait and see what the future holds.”