ANNUAL REPORT
2023
New Senior Pastor
Zach Fontaine
Pastor Zach Fontaine is a third-generation pastor. Like his grandpa, Pastor Cam, and his dad, Pastor Leon, before him, his greatest desire is reaching the world for Jesus and populating Heaven.
Zach brings a wealth of ministry experience and knowledge to his role as Senior Pastor. Previously, he served as the Youth Pastor at Springs Winnipeg, and he has shared the stage with his dad for many years, ministering both locally and to the world online.
Zach’s unique Spirit Contemporary approach to communicating the Gospel is Bible-based, down-to-earth and refreshing. For him, the Word is paramount as we are individually led and guided by Holy Spirit. But the approach must always be contemporary–relevant and attractive to the people around us.
Pastor Zach and his wife Jessica are eager to see God use Springs Church to further His Kingdom. Truly, the best is yet to come.
2023 was a year of building momentum. After having nearly, a full year back in our regular classes. We started to see more kids bringing their friends and several new families coming to check out Springs, and many making it their home church.
SUNDAYS
In late 2022, we had made the change to split the G Force service so we could run two simultaneous services, one for our Grades 1-3 and one for our Grades 4-6 kids. In 2023 we saw the results of this change. We saw higher retention of Grade 6 students than we have in the past, when they would normally feel “too old” for G Force and want to sit with their parents, they stayed in G Force until the end of the year. This change wasn’t just beneficial for the older kids though, as we had kids in Grade 1 and 2 also feel better coming to G Force expressing they didn’t feel nervous because of so many “big kids” around. This change allowed us to go deeper and more specific in our teaching and experiences for our kids rather than trying to reach as broad of an age gap and as large of a number of kids at one time. We could not have made this change without the amazing problem solving of our volunteers, especially our captains and emcees who rolled with changes week after week as we saw problems and resolved them.
In 2023 we also were blessed to share in the growth that Springs Christian Academy has seen by getting a brand-new shared space in the East Wing for our Kids on the Go class. This is our program on Sundays for children with activity limitations and require special care outside of what we can provide in our regular classes. We were able to go from having one room that all of our Kids on the Go friends were in, to having two separate rooms where we can run different classes based on the needs of each unique friend. One room has more play time and less “classroom structure” while the other room has a bit more routine while both offer sensory friendly environments. We were also able to open up a room that we could stream the service in a sensory friendly manner for our friends who have moved out of Kids on the Go to enjoy with their parents.
We had over 1,100 first time guests at Springs Kids in 2023, and approx. 400 children decided to accept Jesus into their lives!
CALGARY
In 2023, we made some major changes to our building to continue to reach the next generation in a Spirit Contemporary way. We did some renovations to the staff offices, knocking out office space and making room for a brand-new kid’s space! Launching in November of 2023, we brought G Force downstairs and made space just for them so that all our kids could be downstairs. This new space has been very exciting for the kids.
We also brought electronic registration to our Calgary location! The volunteers and parents love this new, fast system of simply giving their phone number to sign in their kids.
We started LVL UP, a preteen specific ministry that helps kids in this unique phase of life they are in during Grade 5&6. Often going deeper in the lessons we are teaching and making room to answer questions these kids have. It has been so exciting seeing them think up some of the most interesting questions about faith, God, and His creation!
Along with LVL UP, we started having Grade 5&6 hangout nights in Calgary as well! These nights are special times where preteens can just be preteens. They can have fun and play some wild games while making friends and going even deeper into the subjects they are learning on Sunday. We also made these nights easy for them to invite friends to by having events like laser tag and having special snacks just for them.
YOUTH
This year has been an extraordinary journey for our Youth Ministry. We have continued to welcome new students every single week, with each service witnessing hands raised in commitment to follow Jesus. The desire within our students to grow deeper in their relationship with God has been truly inspiring.
Our volunteer teams have stepped up once again, ensuring every Friday night is an unforgettable experience. Through their dedication, we’ve created an environment where students can build authentic friendships and have a blast doing it.
While we celebrate our numerical growth and the fun of Friday nights, our main focus remains on discipleship. We believe these students are not only hungry for the Word of God but also ready to stand up and make a difference in their generation, challenging societal norms and living out their faith boldly.
Our Youth Ministry is dedicated to nurturing this passion and providing the tools and support needed for our students to grow spiritually. We are grateful for our amazing volunteer team and eagerly anticipate the incredible things the coming year will bring as we continue this journey together. We truly believe, the best is yet to come!
MUSIC MINISTRY
To look back at 2023 we are with Gratitude
In both Calgary and Winnipeg, we have seen how worship has really had a unique way of bringing people together like no other. Springs Church truly demonstrates the beauty of generational worship as people of all ages gather together. Weekly people join together experiencing miracles and seeing the evidence of God’s goodness. Without a doubt, 2023 has found us grateful to build on the momentum of the past year. We grew, yes, in the number of our volunteers, but even more significantly, we grew in our spirit. We stretched out our tent pegs and enlarged our borders to make room for growth and development in our capacity to serve. Our music volunteers grew in the Word, and in worship, relationships and in our musical skill. 2023 also brought us over 22 music/worship special number performances. These special numbers display both the talent and heart of each of our volunteers. Preparing for celebrations such as Valentines Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparents Day, Multicultural Sunday, and of course, the full month of December which was packed full of fun, heartwarming and impactful music for the Christmas season. What excites us so much is that the Junior choir has grown to over 55 youth Grade 3-Grade 11. We see these young voices developing in their worship and in their gift of music. Christmas eve was a highlight as we opened the service with these beautiful young voices singing “Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel”. Together our Music and Creative teams prepared to serve at five Christmas eve services for a full day of volunteering! What a memorable part of the season our Music teams were.
Along with our Junior Choir, we have really seen growth in our Young Adults and Youth Worship teams. The youth attending services are entering in and experiencing Holy Spirit in a very present and refreshing way each week. The highlights at youth have been our Youth Worship choir and teams leading worship and sharing in times of communion together. We hosted a number of Jam sessions where young musicians and singers have the opportunity to either play or sing and get a glimpse at what it means to be on the Music Team.
2023 saw us bring back the Worship choir and we have loved to hear these voices unite together bringing much joy and life into our sanctuary! As a church family, we have made certain songs both our home and church family “declarations”, as we drew our line in the sand. “Praise”, which was first presented on our Multicultural Sunday, has become a strong song that unites our voices with bold confidence! Other Springs favourites have been “Holy Forever” and “Firm Foundation”. If you ever hear our children in worship, all of these songs represent the strong multigenerational sound of worship.
In October, we as a church collectively witnessed such a beautiful ceremony as Pastor Zach was ordained as our Senior Pastor. We will never forget this moment in our church history as we, the worship team led in worship and were part of this unforgettable night. We were infused with bittersweet and precious memories. What an honour to see and experience the tangible presence of God in the room as the Fontaine family and our Pastors laid hands on Pastor Zach. The “Build the Future” campaign began shortly thereafter and this is what each team is doing as we build our teams and our church in each area of ministry.
We can say with undeniable confidence that in 2023, the door has swung wide open to see and experience the evidence of God’s goodness week in and week out. Collective voices are boldly declaring, worshipping and seeking to know God more deeply through our times of corporate worship. Our volunteers serve others and God with an unshakeable faith, and walk with strength toward the future. Standing on the truth that “He must increase, and we must decrease”, we are seeing eager commitment and dedication to our church family. We go boldly into a future that is filled with fresh vision, yet grounded on strong teaching and a legacy that comes from the generations before us. The Best is Yet to come!
SERVICE TEAMS
We are so thankful for our great volunteer teams who are so eager each and every week to serve their God and this church. It takes approximately 160 people to run our service team ministry each and every week. The team helps to make our Sunday services an awesome experience.
Our outstanding parking team focuses on serving others regardless of the weather … from minus 35 C to plus 35 C and everything in between, it is quite the feat to park over 2400 cars between the three services each Sunday. We have the best volunteers by far!
SPORTS
Our Sports teams provided a much-needed community building outlet. From pickleball, soccer, volleyball, indoor floor hockey, basketball, co-ed ice hockey and baseball; Springs Sports was an exciting part of the fun aspect of our church experience!
We also had our yearly events such as: Golf Tournament, Family Fishing Derby, Motorcycle Rally, Car Drifting event to add to the excitement. Who knows what else we can think of adding for 2024!
CAFÉS
The Winnipeg Café is at the center of church activity all week long. Having our Café open in the daytime gives our families, guests and surrounding community an opportunity to meet, work or enjoy a relaxing cup of coffee in a beautiful environment. It also gives our SCA parents a place to grab a coffee after dropping off their children at school.
Our busiest times in the café are during the Café Lunches (Tuesdays & Wednesdays) and the Friday Night on the Patio where families gather together to hang out while their teens are enjoying Youth. We’ve added weekly food trucks to Friday night in the summer as well. The Winnipeg Café is such a great resource for people to build friendships and do life together.
Every Sunday, all our Cafés are filled with people visiting throughout the day. They provide a welcoming atmosphere for those wanting to relax and connect with family and friends. The energy each Sunday is incredible and contagious. We love being such a significant part of creating the atmosphere and culture of our church.
This year, the Hospitality Team had the opportunity to assist in hosting the Vision Night where Pastor Zach was announced as Senior Pastor of Springs Canada. It was a wonderful historic night for our church family and we were happy to be part of it as we served desserts and coffee later that evening.
We were also involved in many different events from Men’s Breakfast, College graduations, Ladies Bible Study, Kingdom Builder events, Worship nights, Volunteer Training nights, 20 Somethings events and many more. Our church is brimming with life and the events are a testament of joy and the life-giving community we provide and cherish. We are so excited for what’s to come!
SPRINGS ZOOM GROUPS
Our Springs Zoom Groups were formed as a creative way for people to stay connected throughout the year. We wanted to bring people together to continue building relationships and provide an opportunity to go much deeper into God’s Word together. A Springs Zoom Group is a small community of people who connect weekly online. Because people are unique, every group is unique, and the intent of each one is to make great friendships, support one another, and grow in the Word as the groups discuss the Sunday message.
Our Acts of Kindness ministry was started in order to help those less fortunate and in need of furniture for their homes. Over the past several years, there have been so many people desperately in need. Thanks to the many furniture donations we receive, we can deliver to many homes in need. It is always such an amazing blessing to be able to bring comfort, joy and peace to people in need. Our Acts of Kindness ministry is able to do that in a HUGE way!
MISSIONS
Watoto and Love India
During the year we were able to send financial support to our incredible Missions – Watoto in Uganda and Love India in India.
Emergency Food
Throughout the year, there were many people trying to make ends meet but when they just couldn’t, we had groceries available to help take them through to the next paycheque.
Miracle Channel
At Springs, we’re excited to support Miracle Channel in its mission to help people all over the world grow closer to Jesus. Broadcasting 24/7, Miracle Channel impacts many who ‘happen’ across it, often in the middle of a sleepless night that is filled with fear, depression or grief. Miracle Channel is like a light shining in the darkest night, saying “Hope is here!” Miracle Channel is the only television station that provides 24-hour access to Biblical teaching in Canada, and their role in bringing the truth of God’s Word to a hurting world is vitally important. For many remote Northern communities, Miracle Channel is the only source of Christian teaching and discipleship.
Inner City
At Springs Inner City, our goal is to lead people into a real relationship with Jesus and empower them to rise above the often-difficult circumstances they’ve experienced. We do this through our food programs, kids/youth services, and Sunday church service.
We serve about 500 families every month at our Thursday morning food bank. Additionally, we help families in crisis situations with emergency food hampers throughout the week. We have approximately 170 kids and 100 teens that are a part of our Friday Night Kids Klub and Youth program. We are reshaping our inner city by mentoring and disciplining the next generation and are seeing incredible changes in whole family units. This past year we’ve started serving breakfast at our Sunday morning services. It’s been an amazing tool to help us build community within our weekly church service.
In August, we hosted a Community Block Party. We had over 1300 people come out to this event! We served a free BBQ supper and had face painting, games, dunk tank, and bouncers for the kids. We were able to show the community love in a tangible way. We also were able to connect local families to our kids/youth programs, food bank, and Sunday service.
This year we hosted three Christmas Parties throughout December. In total 461 children and teens in our North End received a Christmas gift this year and got to hear about Jesus; the best gift of all. We were able to show each one God’s love and how much they matter to Him.
There is nothing more beautiful than seeing God doing amazing things in people’s lives. Here are a few stories from the past year:
– A lady asked for prayer for her hip on Wednesday morning at our Breakfast and a Message program. She’d had major surgery, including metal rods put in, and was having a very difficult time walking. She came to church on the following Sunday walking completely normally. She was totally healed. She said she had no more pain and could walk with no issues at all.
– One of our long-time youth opened up to a volunteer on a Friday evening on the bus ride to Youth that they were really struggling emotionally and thinking about suicide. This was triggered by a 3-year-old sibling’s court case. The family had lost custody of the child. She also has a court date coming up where she was a victim in a sexual assault. We were able to talk and pray with her. We helped her find needed resources and continued to follow up with her. It’s been several months since this night passed, and she is doing so much better. God cares deeply for His kids and brings people into their lives that can show His love and compassion. If we wouldn’t have been there that night, this could have turned out very differently.
-On Thursday at food bank, we talked with a Grandma who was going through a really challenging time. Her daughter passed away a few months earlier and she’s now raising her grandchildren. We were able to pray with her, help her out with groceries, and help her sign her grandkids up for Kids Klub. She was so thankful.
-A lady who’s been coming to our Sunday services shared this with us this past month, “I was telling my husband before I knew Jesus, I believed so many things were hopeless and would never change in my life or in our life together. Now after knowing Jesus, everything in my life and our life started to change. I thought I would never quit addictions and I thought he would never quit drinking. I honestly believed that he would never quit – that’s how hopeless I felt. I thought I wouldn’t get my license back and the biggest fear was not getting my baby back. Well let me tell you something – I can’t but I know One who can! Thank you, Jesus!” Over the past 3 years, we’ve seen this family completely restored. She’s an amazing mom to her now 4-year-old daughter.
“On Wednesday at Breakfast and a Message, we prayed with a lady whose 23-year-old niece was missing. The family was very concerned for her safety. She came back on Thursday to let us know that they found her a few hours after we prayed and she is safe and doing well. Thank you Jesus!”
“A young man has been coming out regularly with his girlfriend to our Sunday services. He used to come to Springs IC Youth. At the time he was involved in gangs and drugs. He told us that coming to Youth changed the direction of his life and helped him find his faith again. He was able to break free from the gang he was in. He decided to get out after his best friend, who also attended our youth about 15 years ago, died of an overdose on her 18th birthday. He was then homeless for a few years but has since secured housing and a part time job. He said if it wasn’t for the leaders at Springs Inner City being in his corner, he would have never had the courage to get out of the gang.”
FULL-TIME
What an incredible college year! This exciting program not only provides students (ages 18-25) with the information they need to be successful in life but also provided an incredible environment for them to personally change their lives to become who God has planned for them to be. During the school year the students participated in Biblical Studies and Leadership and Management classes to help them build a solid foundation in God’s Word, their leadership skill set and lasting relationships within the team. We had such an action-packed year once again! It is always exciting to see these young adults more prepared to impact the world we live in with the hope of Jesus.
PART-TIME
Our Leadership Level 1 and 2 programs, were very successful once again this year. These programs gave people from all walks of life the building blocks they need to develop their leadership skills. Being taught in a Spirit Contemporary way, they provided students with a strong foundation in leadership that they can apply both in their local church and in the marketplace. Every Tuesday evening, students attended select courses that built their leadership and knowledge in finance, management, relationships and the Bible. We always look forward to these programs growing each and every year.
Biblical Studies 1 and 2 were very successful once again. It was such a joy to celebrate with our graduates in June. We continually endeavour to train and equip our church to walk and share in God’s abundant life. These programs enabled the students to delve deeper into biblical truths and lead them on a journey of increased knowledge and understanding helping them to take their relationship with God to much higher levels. We believe that Springs College will continue to develop great leaders within the church and equip people to excel in family and career!
SPRINGS CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
What a wonderful year we have had ensuring our students received an excellent education.
Our School Theme this year was THRIVING.
The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them. You will always be at the top, never the bottom. Deuteronomy 28:13
Planted in the House of the Lord, they (the righteous) thrive in the courts of our God. Psalm 92:13
We are thankful for our SCA Families and all of the support our parents and guardians have given us throughout this year. Here are a few highlights:
- Total – Over 780 students
- Lagimodiere Elementary campus approx. 500 students (Preschool – Grade 5)
- Youville Middle/High campus approx. 300 students (Grade 6 – 12)
- We added an additional Grade 3, 6 and 9 class
- We added a Preschool/Kindergarten hybrid program that allows some students to come half-time and some to come full-time
- We completed our new 3 room addition at the end of the Lagimodiere east wing and Grade 3 started the year in them
- We took down the blue/red playground at Lag due to its age and built a beautiful new one (Eagle playground) outside the east wing
- We doubled the size of our Preschool/Kindergarten play area so they can all be out at the same time and have room to play and learn outside. There is also an outdoor classroom in the new area.
- Our green play structure has been removed due to construction needs, but will be rebuilt in a new location close to the newer Eagle playground
- We have added a single washroom in the south and north hallways. This is for staff to use as we gave up our staff main washroom to the students.
- We added 4 portables to our Youville campus to help with growth
- We also finished adding air conditioning units to each classroom at the Youville campus
- Build the Future Campaign launched in November, and we have our Dig Event happening in 2024.
We had a number of travel and ministry opportunities this year:
- Spiritual Retreats: Grade 12 Camp Cedarwood, Grade 11 Roseau River and Camp Arnes, Grade 9 all-nighter at 725 Lag, 68 Grade 7/8 students on our Civil Rights Memphis 8-day tour, Grade 5 Winkler Bible Camp
- 22 Grade 11-12 students toured Italy over Spring Break
- Grade 6 and Grades 9 to 12 Ski Trips
- Kindergarten gathered mitts and toques for those in the inner city
- Grade 1 gathered money through Watoto Toes for our Watoto sponsor children
- Grade 2 brought in donations for an animal shelter
- Grades 3 and 4 visited seniors’ homes
- Grade 10 classes visited Springs Inner City where they were able to help with the Foodbank
- The elementary campus Springs Inner City Toy Drive brought in 201 gifts
- Our middle/high school campus gathered food for Springs Inner City at Christmas time
- During Healthy Schools Month, the Elementary campus gathered/donated 5,732 items of food to Springs Inner City
- During Reading and Writing Month, the Elementary campus gathered/donated 944 books
- The Elementary classes did the annual Walk for Watoto in May and continue to fundraise the final amount for our eight Watoto sponsor children
- Chapel continues to be a highlight at SCA. In December, we were able to gather as a WHOLE school chapel and what a blessing it was to see our students worshipping God together. Before the chapel we enjoyed carolling together outside around Circle Drive.
- Our Middle/High school hosted two student-led Praise & Worship evenings this school year.
- The production of “Good News Ahead, the Signs of Christmas”, SCA’s 2023 Elementary Christmas Concert went great. We had 1,819 in attendance and a great time of community building at supper beforehand.
- In December, the annual SCA Youth Parliament was a rewarding experience for our students, who had been preparing for months for this moment. We were able to invite various MLAs and many joined us.
- In February, we were excited to once again have our Festival Du Voyageur at the elementary campus. We had taffy, snowshoeing, bannock, leg wrestling, pea soup, crafts, and tobogganing.
- Grade 1-2 Garage Sale and Grade 3-5 Market are a great way to practice math in a practical setting, as well as stewardship, and self-control. The kids had a blast going from room to room, learning how to budget their money, and how to make change!
- We had six Grade 4-6 students compete in the provincial French competition. All students competed well, and we had 3 students place in their category (1st, 2nd & 2nd)
- Our middle school continues to incorporate and improve on our Flex Program, where our students have the opportunity to explore woodworking, dance, robotics, ice fishing, cosmetology, foods, rock climbing/archery, pottery, low-organized games, outdoor ed, curling/bowling, mobile photography, music tech, and our fun and engaging English program, ‘Language is Lit’.
- Our Junior Achievement Business program was a success again this year! 13 students from Gr 9-12 worked incredibly hard over this school year and launched their new business called Handmade Manitoba, making handmade gemstone and wood bracelets. They also partnered with Springs Inner City and donated a portion of their proceeds. A few of our JA students won provincial awards (Top President of the Year & Top Marketing Director of the Year.)
- Spirit week at our Middle/High school was packed with exciting activities, bringing in an inflatable gladiator arena and the Biology game, on top of the other fun in-house events.
- Our major sports accomplishments from this year include:
- Grade 8 girls won the divisional banner in the Louis Riel School Division for volleyball
- Grade 8 boys won the divisional banner in the Louis Riel School Division for volleyball
- Varsity boys team placed 4th at the MHSAA provincials for AA basketball
- We had first places at the CSSA 4-6 track meet in 800 m, 100 m , 1200 m
- Track – Several students qualified for the provincial track and field track meet
- Soccer – Varsity Soccer boys went to the provincial qualifiers
- We also hosted the MHSAA JV girls AA basketball provincial tournament this year, in which our team competed as hosts. The church was very helpful in pulling it off, especially when there was a snowstorm and one day of play had to be added to the next day.
- We held our final annual Christmas Market fundraiser which was well attended.
- We had our bi-annual meeting with our government liaison. The purpose was to come out and ensure that we are teaching the Manitoba Curriculum. The two-day assessment went well and we had a good review.
- In May, we were able to offer Our Social Media Awareness nights for our parents.
- We also continued with our online hot lunch program called MunchaLunch and have increased to 5 days of hot lunch at both the elementary and the middle/high school campus. Parents are able to pay online and the program has increased efficiency, and productivity. In the last two months, we have begun to introduce healthier options.
- Our Middle & High School Athletic Awards were run at Youville and focussed on volleyball and basketball (our two biggest sports)
- This year, we successfully ran our Afternoon of Art and Music at 595 Lagimodiere Blvd campus (formerly at 725). Students performed exceptionally, demonstrating great musical prowess.
We look forward to finishing our year off strong with our Bike Rodeo, Preschool, Celebr8 (Grade 8 Grad ceremony) and Grade 12 Graduation, as well as our two Academic awards programs. We are excited to host a picnic party on the last day of school to help build more school community.
