Cake pops, balloons, and the flash of a photobooth celebrated one year of the180's existence as a new church community in Laval, QC this past Sunday.
Highlights from year one include securing a rented warehouse space, running many outreach events over the Christmas season, hosting a mental health conference, and completing two sessions of of Home Groups, among many other milestones and signs of transformative growth.
Sunday’s one year anniversary gathering included a visit from Laval’s deputy mayor and Quebec’s District Superintendent of the Christian & Missionary Alliance. A new area for kids ministry 
was unveiled, and many were present to enjoy the message and a group picture afterwards. The progress is quite amazing when you consider that planters Domenic and Bev Ruso moved to Quebec with their 3 boys in August of 2016 without even a space to meet in!
When ask to reflect on what has been the most exciting thing about this past year of planting the180 Church, Pastor Dom shared:
Over the past year I've been so encouraged at how God has helped people rethink their ideas of Jesus, His Church and community engagement. This has required me to trust in God's timing and to pay attention to how He was welcoming people to experience transformation in new and creative ways. Helping people develop the capacity to rethink and relearn is an essential aspect of developing disciples that will impact our communities and that are worth sending into the world.
The180 looks forward to continuing to form leaders through thoughtful weekly gatherings, Home Groups and pouring into existing and new partnerships with their surrounding community in Quebec.
Please pray for them!
Learn more
You can check out a Facebook Live recording of their Sunday gathering from the one year celebration.
Visit the180's website for more information or follow along on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for all the latest updates.