Vancouver, British Columbia, now reports “no religion” as its leading religious identity, putting it in the vanguard of a trend happening across North America. What does this mean for the Christian communities that continue to worship, work, and witness in this mostly secular city?

West Coast Mission seeks to uncover where Christianity in Vancouver is headed now that it is a minority belief system in the broader culture. Drawing on a five-year study of fourteen sites, including church plants, congregations, and para-church agencies, Ross Lockhart describes how Christians in Vancouver are organizing their communities, shaping their beliefs, and expressing themselves in mission. He finds that, rather than simply declining, Christianity in the city is adapting in response to immigration, decolonization, pluralism, and social crises. Christians are focusing on friendship and social connection in a culture that identifies as “spiritual not religious,” on affordable housing as a missional concern, on the communal value of environmental stewardship, and on sharing the gospel in light of the destructive legacies of colonialism and residential schools.

West Coast Mission explores the evolving spectrum of religious identity in Vancouver and the significant cultural shifts taking place in how Christian mission and witness are approached in a secular city.

Ross Lockhart is dean of St Andrew’s Hall and professor of mission studies at Vancouver School of Theology.

Ross A. Lockhart's profile page

“Spanning urban missiology, ethnography, evangelism, and spirituality, West Coast Mission is an interdisciplinary tour de force! Lockhart provides a hope-filled, practical way forward into God’s mission for churches who acknowledge the city as a “place of God’s revelation.” Priscilla Pope-Levison, Southern Methodist University

“Ross Lockhart has done something extraordinary – with energy and depth, he’s explored a context as a way of helping each of us think missionally about our own world. A very able teacher, Lockhart uses Vancouver as a classroom to teach us how to witness to the work of Christ in our secular world. All pastors, missiologists, and practical theologians need this book.” Andrew Root, author of The Church After Innovation

“Lockhart’s study of the changing spectrum of spirituality in Vancouver is both academically rich and beautifully written.” Judy Paulsen, Wycliffe College

“This book is an innovative and exhaustive collection of congregational data in Canada in a domain where relatively little research currently exists.” Joel Thiessen, Ambrose University

“Lockhart’s West Coast Mission is a wellspring of hope amid the clamour of crisis. Methodologically rigorous, interdisciplinary, and hyperlocal in its approach, this book will be a guidebook for researchers, pastors, and faith communities. As the church and shape of Christian mission are changing, the living witnesses Lockhart identifies are a good place to discern the future of faith.” Dustin D. Benac, author of Adaptive Church: Collaboration and Community in a Changing World

“In an increasingly post-Christian West, those tasked with imagining and leading the church toward good futures would do well to consider the insights Lockhart has gleaned from churches at home in Vancouver, BC – one of Canada’s most secular cities. With both affection and clarity, West Coast Mission reveals the persistence, puzzles, and prospects that characterize Christian communities navigating mission and ministry in their new minority status.” Christopher B. James, author of Church Planting in Post-Christian Soil: Theology and Practice