Conception Bay South's Live-Stream Ministry

Located on the outskirts of St. John’s, N.L., on the east coast of Canada, Conception Bay South is a small town of about 27,000 people. But thanks to a thriving live-stream ministry, the reach of the local Salvation Army corps goes far beyond the bounds of the town, as tens of thousands of people tune into their Sunday services each week. The reach is enormous—and so is the impact.

Majors Chris and Claudette Pilgrim, the CBS corps officers, and Lindsey Andrews, live-stream ministry co-ordinator, share how the ministry works and has grown over the years—especially since the pandemic. And most importantly, they share real stories of how the ministry is changing lives in Newfoundland and Labrador  and around the world.

Conception Bay South Corps YouTube Channel

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Transcript

Kristin Ostensen

This is the Salvationist podcast. I’m Kristin Ostensen. Conception Bay South is a small town on the outskirts of St. John’s in Newfoundland and Labrador. But the reach of the local Salvation Army corps extends far beyond the bounds of the town, the province—even the country! The church broadcasts its two Sunday services live on Facebook and YouTube, with tens of thousands of viewers tuning in each week. The reach is enormous—and so is the impact. I’m delighted to welcome Majors Chris and Claudette Pilgrim, the CBS corps officers, to the podcast this week, along with Lindsey Andrews, who coordinates the live-stream ministry. They give us an inside look at how the ministry works and has grown over the years—especially since the pandemic. And most importantly, they share real stories of how the ministry is changing lives, in Newfoundland and around the world.

Chris Pilgrim

Hi, I'm Major Chris Pilgrim, corps officer of Conception Bay South Corps.

Claudette Pilgrim

And Major Claudette Pilgrim, also the CO of CBS Corps. 

Lindsey Andrews

And my name is Lindsey Andrews, and I work as the tech lead for the video/online/audio ministry. 

Kristin Ostensen

Wonderful. Thank you so much for being here. So, to start us off, can you tell us a bit about your live-stream ministry?

Chris Pilgrim

The live-stream ministry, Kristin, has been a part of the CBS Corps ministry for over 10 years now. Back when live-stream ministry wasn't being explored by many, it was something the ministry here felt the desire to do and to be a part of. And so, with limited resources, live-stream ministry started. Since that time, this ministry has grown considerably and has had the privilege of impacting thousands for the kingdom of God, not just around our own province of Newfoundland and Labrador, but the reach is worldwide. The views and the many people worldwide that connect with us online—I don't think it was ever expected by any of us. 

Lindsey Andrews

No.

Chris Pilgrim

But yet, certainly a humbling experience to know the homes that we have the privilege of impacting throughout the world, for the kingdom.

Kristin Ostensen

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, the reach of your ministry—it's large enough, it certainly came to my attention over here in Ontario. And I know folks who watch every week out here even, so it really is incredible. And as corps officers and pastors, how do you approach your services, knowing that you kind of have these two congregations, in a sense? You have sort of your in-person congregation, and then you have the thousands online watching from around the world.

Chris Pilgrim

We’re always mindful that there are two congregations. However, the approach is such that we plan our services with the in-person congregation in mind; the online congregation is tuning in for the CBS expression of worship. Always aware of the online congregation, and we like to keep things flowing as much as possible. There's always an awareness of dead air, which we never like to pause much throughout what we do. I mean, we all know 10 seconds of dead air feels like forever just sitting on your couches at home and whatever. So, we're mindful of that. But that being said, as we gather for worship, there's always a sense of unity between the in-person and the online, because we all come together for the one purpose, and that's to worship the Lord together.

Kristin Ostensen

And are there ways that you try to make the services more engaging for online viewers? I've noticed you often will go on and comment, for example, on the live stream. Is that something you do, Lindsey, or are there ways that you try to be engaging in an intentional way?

Lindsey Andrews

People like to comment and to let us know where they are watching from, and they like to interact with us. They like to send along prayer requests, or they like to suggest songs that they would might want to hear sung in a church service, or pass along compliments, you know, or whatever. So, it's a real opportunity for the viewer at home to be about as engaged as you possibly can without physically being in the actual sanctuary.

Chris Pilgrim

We always make a point to welcome the viewer, looking into the camera, addressing them, making them feel like they are part of the experience with us. And so back to what I said about the, you know, yes, it's two congregations in a sense, but yet we're one, and we want it to be kind of that experience. Just want to give you, I can give you a couple of examples of that. Talk about engaging the viewers: We received a video from an officer who was worshipping with us from Norway, and she was singing along with us in her native language as we were singing Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross. When we received that video, it was quite moving, quite stirring for us just to see that. Another time we heard from three ladies from the Faroe Islands who gather every Sunday evening to watch our online services while playing their piano accordions and worshipping along with them. So, you talk about being engaged with us, these are some good examples. We received a video from an elderly lady in her 90s, singing, clapping her hands, praising the Lord as she was viewing one of our services. So, there's lots of that engaging. Certainly, that's happening through, like Lindsey said, prayer requests, praise reports, and then receiving some of those videos, knowing how much people are appreciating being part of the service. Another piece that we like to do—we always appreciate hearing back from folks if they've given their lives to the Lord. So if they surrender their lives to Jesus, then we like to hear back from them whether they've done that. And that's happened on numerous occasions throughout the service. And we always address that. We always make mention of it. And we'll take opportunity to sing some praise song or chorus of victory, just celebrating this person that gave their lives to the Lord. So, it's wonderful, wonderful to be able to engage in in that way. 

Kristin Ostensen

Yeah, that is fantastic. And how does your sort of in-person congregation feel about being such an online church with such a wide reach outside the physical walls?

Chris Pilgrim

It's an accepted part of our worship time together. Many people don't even notice the cameras anymore. We gather for worship, and they understand that we're one congregation gathered for one purpose, and that's to worship the Lord.

Claudette Pilgrim

And that's pretty obvious, considering the freedom that's around still up the front and around the altar, and then sharing together and just being there, you know, within view, and yet it still happens. 

Lindsey Andrews

And from a video production point of view, we don't shy away from showing, you know, that aspect of the service—you know, if you're up at the altar or the mercy seat at the front of the church. But we don't invade anybody's personal space or privacy either, and we have a respect for allowing the viewer at home to see what's happening at the front of the church, but not to be so close that we're taking away that special moment that's happening up there. So, we have a huge respect—all of our camera folks and directors and that kind of stuff know that it's OK to show what's happening up there, because I truly believe that's why so many people like to watch the service, because it truly is a real service. But we also are very mindful that that is a very private moment happening at the front of the church, so we're very respectful, and we don't show closeups or anything of that nature up around the front of the church.

Kristin Ostensen

Yeah, that makes sense. And you've talked a little bit about your team and this kind of sensitivity and, Lindsey, I'm wondering, if you can talk a bit more from a technical perspective, what goes into the live-streaming ministry? What's your role, what's your setup? Can you give us that background piece?

Lindsey Andrews

So, I guess—and I say this with pride, but somewhat humility—we have what I would consider a pretty elaborate setup at CBS, from a video production point of view. And, I guess that, in a lot, that has to do with, you know, I've worked in the television industry for 40 years. So, when the opportunity was provided to, you know, really, to help the CBS corps, we kind of went all-in to really put a full technical production in place. So, I would suggest you that the technical setup at the CBS church is like you would find in any television studio or any television production. This is about as full-on professional as you could possibly get. And I'll give you just some examples of that for argument's sake—and not to bore you with numbers and that kind of stuff, but anybody from a techie point of view would probably, or anybody who's who does online ministry will probably be able to relate a little bit to this. So, we currently use a minimum of five professional video cameras in the sanctuary. Three of those professional cameras have actual human beings operating them. They are not remote control. So, we have three camera people. We also have two fixed camera shots, and we also make use of, you know, the traditional PTZ remote control cameras that a lot of churches use for their online ministry, and that's kind of a backup shot. On occasion, we complement our video production with the addition of a jib cam, and that's an 18-foot-long arm camera that swings in over the congregation and the platform and all that aspect of it, and shows the sanctuary and gives a whole perspective that you really can't get from your traditional-type camera. And then for the remainder of the tech team, of course, we have a switcher-director person; a minimum of three camera operators; we have a person who handles all of our lyrics—so, puts the graphics up on the screen; an audio technician. And the one good thing that I want to mention here, when I say all that, is that all of these are church volunteers. So, these are not professional people. These are church volunteers. 

Claudette Pilgrim

They're not being paid.

Lindsey Andrews

They're not being paid, and they have learned all of this. So, we've brought in the equipment, we've trained them all, and they have done an absolutely amazing job learning to operate all of that equipment, which I'll talk about a little later on. 

Chris Pilgrim

And that team continues to grow, correct? 

Lindsey

Yes, exactly. We keep adding to the team, because it's always good to have backups and redundancy and all that aspect of it. So we train more and more directors, and more and more camera operators, and it allows people who may not have what they consider a role in the church, but love working behind the scenes. So it's a perfect opportunity for them to play a part in the functioning of the church in this day and age, but working behind the scenes, right?

Kristin Ostensen

Yeah, that's wonderful. And it's so interesting to hear all that goes in it, because when you watch it online, it's so professional, it's so smooth. And it is wonderful to acknowledge the volunteers, because a ministry like this, of course, wouldn't happen without dedicated people who really see the impact and the value of the ministry. And you did share a couple of really neat stories about folks watching from Norway and other places, but I'm wondering if you can talk a bit more about the impact you've seen in your time at the corps, and are there other stories that you can share with us?

Chris Pilgrim 

A common story that we've heard a lot over the last four years—we could say, pandemic times onward—is the impact that the online ministry has had on them. And we keep hearing the statement, “You've been a lifeline for us.” And we hear that, the hope that we've given, that encouragement and that uplifting that we've given them through the songs and choruses we sing, through the words spoken. When the doors of the churches were closed, the doors of live-stream ministry here at CBS, we felt, swung wide open for us. And then we saw the numbers continue to grow, meaning that there are a lot of people out there who are depending on this ministry to feed them spiritually and to help them along. And so that's one piece that we continually hear is, through the loneliness, through some fear that some people are going through, they tune into us to help them through those experiences in their lives. And for some of them, they've gone through some pretty dark times in their lives, and we brought about that, that hope message, that message of hope that has brought them to a different place in their lives, and how God has used it to just speak to them.

Claudette Pilgrim

So one example during the pandemic, we after, almost immediately after we concluded one of our evening services, we received a text message that started with a statement: “You saved my life.” And so then, in engaging in conversation and hearing the rest of the story, this lady within our own province of Newfoundland and Labrador, this lady had hidden herself in her closet and was ready to commit suicide. And her husband was sitting in their sitting room and had our service playing. And at some point in the service, you know, you follow the lead of the Spirit, and we don't go by script. You know, our prayers are not written out and all that kind of stuff. We, it's real. Like Lindsey said earlier, it's just real. And listening to the lead of the Spirit, and speaking about how, for sure, that there are people who are lonely, and suicide is quite often, you know, the result, at least, of depression and anxiety. And so we brought attention to that and offered, you know, statements of hope and how Jesus was there, and they're not alone, and they didn't have to take this route and whatever. And they heard that. This lady heard that, and she came out, and she is still worshipping with us today online. It's amazing.

Chris Pilgrim

That's a great story of hope. I remember receiving an email as well from a married couple living in Williamsburg, Virginia, who shared with us during one of our services, they committed their lives to Jesus. They asked about The Salvation Army in Williamsburg and wanted to get connected to the church. Long story short, they started attending, became soldiers of the Williamsburg corps, and are both now leaders in the corps, leading seniors ministry, actively leading Bible study, and have even preached sermons while the officers have been away. So, what an exciting story that is. You talk about engaging and connecting. It's amazing that we had a part to play in that. A lady from the UK who was away from the Lord for a lot of years and church attendance for years, recommitted her life to the Lord through one of our online services, and she connected, reconnected with her local corps, and said that she, I remember, after she gave her life to the Lord, she sent us a message and said, “Tomorrow morning”—this was on a Sunday night—“Tomorrow morning, I'm going to connect with my officer, and I'm going to get reconnected with the corps.” And so she did. She got reinstated as a soldier and now singing in the songsters, playing in the band at her local corps in the UK. Little closer to home, Kristin, there's a gentleman who watched our services regularly. And the amazing thing about it is he would watch our services in the evenings, out around his fire pit in his backyard with a glass of Crown Royal whiskey while watching our services, and tears just flowing down his face, under conviction, wanting to surrender his life to the Lord. And one Sunday evening, during the live service, he prayed to the Lord to forgive him of his sins and to take that craving of alcohol away. The next Saturday morning, we had a men's breakfast at the corps, and this gentleman showed up, and he couldn't wait to share with the men what the Lord did for him that Sunday evening. And so, he had a full-on bar in his house, and every bit of alcohol that was there, he threw down the sink and said, “I'm done with this. My life onward is to serve Jesus.” Some months later, I had the privilege of enrolling him as a soldier, he wears the uniform proudly, and he has a powerful testimony for the Lord that he shares boldly to his family and to the world. So, praise God for the live-stream ministry and the impact, kingdom impact that it has. 

Kristin Ostensen

Yeah, that is so incredible.

Chris Pilgrim

So many stories of families who've gathered around the bedside of a loved one who's passing away, knowing that they were so connected with our live-stream ministry, they would put the service on in the last moments of their loved one's life, and we would be singing them, really, into glory. Uh, like, those are stories that we've heard, Kristin.

Claudette Pilgrim

And then from nursing homes and seniors homes around that have told us, you know, when the church services come on, they bring their residents out into their lounge, and they turn on a service, and that's their worship service for the day. So, although we have numbers that show up on Facebook, I mean, that's basically devices, so we have no way of knowing how many are behind each device. So, for instance, some nursing homes might have 40 or 50 at a time that are watching.

Chris Pilgrim

We've actually received pictures of a residents’ lounge with us on the big screen. They're worshipping along with us. Pretty stirring.

Kristin Ostensen

Yeah. That is so amazing. Thank you so much for sharing those. And I just love how, you know, it's not just staying online, too, right? Folks are actually connecting locally where they are.

Chris Pilgrim

Absolutely, that's part of what we want to do. Oftentimes I've said, “Get connected with a Bible-preaching evangelical church, get plugged in.” And whether it's Salvation Army, Pentecostal—it doesn't matter. Just get into a church that's preaching the Word and be discipled, grow in the Lord. And we've heard many stories of people who've done that.

Kristin Ostensen

Now, a little earlier, you referenced, of course, the pandemic, and I know Majors Chris and Claudette, you were appointed to CBS in 2019. I'm sure you and, of course, none of us had any idea what was coming. But because CBS already had this digital ministry, do you think you were in a better position when the pandemic hit? And then, how has your online ministry evolved since that time, either through the pandemic or because of the pandemic or other factors?

Chris Pilgrim

No one had any idea what was coming.

Kristin Ostensen 

No. [chuckles]

Chris Pilgrim

And if we had known when we moved from our previous appointment to CBS that we were going to be in lockdown and we would be online ministry only, I think we ran to the far corner. [laughs] “No, we're not doing it.” But you know what? God has a way of knowing the right move at the right time. And I believe, just knowing back all of those years ago, when the folks at CBS, the leaders at the time, saw that need and desire to, we should tap into what's called online ministry, and at the time, had no idea what that would even look like. To fast forward 10 or so years later, and to know that we're in lockdown, and the only way that we could get the message of the gospel out was through the online ministry—the Lord already had all that lined up. And even the part of Claudette and I being appointed to CBS at that time, and to be able to bring what we brought to that live-stream time through the pandemic, God's hand was upon it, and I believe, yeah, certainly ready to move into that ministry, being more equipped, because we were already set up for the online ministry. It started really for us during the pandemic in our living room, just our family. We had an iPhone set up in the middle of the living room, and we said, “You know what? We can do something here. This might be rough, but we're going to do what we can to get the message of hope out through some singing, through the Word,” and we did that. And I believe through it, the live-stream ministry has grown beyond what we would have ever dreamed it would. So, for it to be a lifeline for many, brought them a sense of hope and peace and connection with God through the worship experience when it was probably one of the darkest times that many, many people would have ever gone through. 

Lindsey Andrews

It started with the iPhone, and then it graduated from the iPhone to, well, we should add a couple of microphones just to make the sound a little better. And then it was like, OK, well, we should add at least one light just to make it even a little bit better. So, as every week and month went on, we moved from iPhone to maybe a better professional video camera, which is one. And then slowly but surely, it materialized into a full-on production, because then at a certain point, we were allowed to move you folks from your home back into the sanctuary, as long as there were only so many people within the sanctuary. So, then we had more opportunity then to enhance the overall production. But I would say that it didn't really matter if it was just an iPhone or a full-on five-camera production; at the end of the day, the audience, the viewers, were still there. Whether it was just one iPhone or a full-on production, the audience were there in strength and numbers, and that speaks volumes.

Kristin Ostensen

Yeah, it's kind of funny hearing the contrast after Lindsey gave us this amazing setup, and then it’s like, “Well, for a while there, we were just on an iPhone.” [laughs]

Lindsey Andrews

Propped up in the living room. 

Kristin Ostensen

Yeah, that's amazing. And obviously there was some evolution there from this sort of basic technological connection to the wonderful setup Lindsey talked about. But are there other ways that your online ministry has changed since you folks took up your appointment as corps officers?

Chris Pilgrim

I'm thinking the growth in numbers has certainly been the big change. The pandemic had something to do with that. I think the numbers just continued to grow through that time, and bringing us to where we are today, we recognize that there was that need to upgrade our equipment. What we had worked in its time, but knowing how the live-stream ministry grew, we knew that it was time to tap into more resources. And so leaning on Lindsay and his team and their expertise, Lindsey put together a wish list, he called it.

Claudette Pilgrim

And it was pretty small at first.

Chris Pilgrim

Pretty small, but then as some donations came in, which gave us really the resources that we needed to tap into more equipment, better equipment, better-quality equipment, reliable equipment—all of that audio, visual stuff that was needed, thousands of dollars invested in that brings us to where we are today, and it's a blessing to be able to produce what we produce on a given week, to the homes of thousands around the world.

Lindsey Andrews

I agree, and I would just like to jump in with one quick comment as well, because there have been so many people who have watched this online ministry, that has resulted in another experience, which is the folks who watch the online ministry, who then travel from far and wide to CBS to sit in on a service, right? I mean, so it's like anything in life: if you watch something, it’s like, “Wow, I would really like to attend that church. I would really like to see what goes on behind the scenes. I feel so much that I watch this on a regular Sunday, and these corps officers are my pastors, and I'm used to the people who normally sing and play on the platform. I'd like to go there.” And I think it would be fair to say that you have run into numerous people who have showed up on a Sunday morning or a Sunday night to take the church service in person in after being able to watch it online. Right?

Chris Pilgrim

There's—in addition to what Lindsay just said—there's been some cruise ships that have come into dock at St. John's Harbour.

Kristin Ostensen

No way!

Chris Pilgrim

We’ve received messages—

Claudette Pilgrim

—from Salvationists.

Chris Pilgrim

—from Salvationists in the UK, and from Melbourne, Australia, who reached out to us online and said, “I'm going to be docking in port in St. John's at such a time. Would you have a few moments to connect with us?” So Claudette and I would go down to the waterfront in St. John's, and we would pick them up, and we would give them a tour around, and they would want to see the corps building, and they would want to just connect with us. Want to hear our story and just want to encourage us in the ministry, which is pretty moving for us. And what a blessing to have people from another side of the world wanting to come to CBS just to encourage us in our ministry, and to share with us the blessing that the ministry has brought.

Claudette Pilgrim

Yeah, and we had a couple, too, visited from—they live six months in Alberta, in Calgary, and then six months in the Philippines. And they flew in on a Saturday evening to come to church on Sunday, to worship with us those two services, to let us know they've watched our services on every continent in the world, and then they flew back out Monday morning.

Kristin Ostensen

Wow. That’s so neat.

Claudette Pilgrim

It really is. 

Chris Pilgrim

Yeah, there was a lady that showed up at church on a Sunday just a few weeks ago, who came from Nova Scotia and just made the trip to be with us on a Sunday morning, to worship with us. That happened often, throughout the summer, in particular. And it's wonderful they make that part of their vacation experience, to be with us.

Kristin Ostensen

Yeah, that's really lovely. And, of course, thinking more broadly, because you are so entrenched in the online ministry world, what are some trends you're seeing? Are there things that are on the horizon, or things happening now that you're seeing in the broader digital ministry world?

Lindsey Andrews

You know, so I've worked in traditional, conventional television, as I said, for 40-plus years, and all the stats around us tell us that, you know, that conventional television is certainly being replaced by mobile and live-stream devices. That's quite obvious from what we are actually doing here right now. And we see that in the traditional television broadcasting industry. Newfoundland is a little bit of an exception to that rule, because we still have, you know, in the world of television broadcasting, we deal in numbers and ratings and all that aspect of it. But in Newfoundland, traditionally, we still have, you know, a large number of viewers who enjoy the local content, local news. But the days of people sitting in front of their TV screens to watch programming like that are quickly eroding compared to even just 10 or 15 years ago. So many people now get their information and videos and news online, and I believe that the church needs to continue to provide that online ministry to be relevant in today's world. That's how people connect. That's how people are getting their information. And the success of the CBS online ministry, I believe, is very much wrapped in that the church can reach so many more people online than they could ever possibly hope and imagine, with people physically coming to a building or infrastructure. And it, in my opinion, it's an amazing opportunity to spread the gospel. And as I mentioned probably earlier, that’s something that, you know, from my point of view, working in television all those years, wouldn't, we would never have dreamed about being able to accomplish something like that from a church point of view. Having a television station broadcast? Yeah, OK, that's one thing. But again, to be able to put a video production system in a local church in Newfoundland that reaches the entire world—who would have ever thought that was possible? I dare say, even 10 years ago, 15 years ago type thing, right? I mean, just in your wildest dreams, and it's a powerful tool.

Kristin Ostensen

And speaking of broadcasting, you recently had a broadcast that was shown live on NTV as well. I have a feeling Lindsey maybe had something to do with that. But how did that partnership come about?

Chris Pilgrim

That started back in the pandemic days as well. But Lindsey was attending the CBS corps occasionally before the pandemic, and so we knew him, we were introduced to him, got to know him a little bit. And when the pandemic hit, and Lindsey saw the growing interest, reached out to help in whatever way he could. And it wasn't a strange thing at all to receive a text message from Lindsey saying, “What can I do to help? Just want you to know I'm here.” And of course, we gladly accepted that, jumped at that offer, and Lindsey can—

Claudette Pilgrim

Then it was vice versa. Then Lindsey reached out.

Lindsey Andrews  

Yeah, yes, yes.

Chris Pilgrim

Then Lindsay, yeah. And that brings us into the NTV piece.

Lindsey Andrews

Yes, so when COVID struck in March of 2020, and all the church closed their doors, as the general manager of our local television station, NTV, I felt the need to try and provide a Sunday service to our viewers, because, you know, a lot of people still went, still go to church here in Newfoundland. So I reached out to a number of local churches that I had previous contacts with, and with the co-operation of a number of denominations, NTV started to provide a free 30-minute church service every Sunday morning to our viewers. And, of course, that was met with very positive viewer feedback. And so obviously, one of the folks that I would contact to make it a part of this whole system was, of course, the folks at the at the Salvation Army and CBS with the Majors Pilgrims. And so every fifth Sunday, the CBS corps now provides a live church service feed specifically for NTV and its viewers. And again, I remind you, as I mentioned earlier, that again, all of that production is handled by local church volunteers. That Sunday service that started four years ago continues to this very day, every fifth week. And we've graduated from a technological point of view, that when we first started, we prerecorded the services and they played on NTV. Now we actually do them live from the sanctuary. So, live from the sanctuary on NTV at 10:30 on a Sunday morning—we do it live. And then we go right into an 11 am service that is live streamed on Facebook and YouTube for all of the CBS folks who watch us there as well. So now we have a very competent team who will do the broadcast live instead of prerecording for NTV. And let me just jump in—I'll finish off speaking by saying, you know, this has been a great partnership between NTV and The Salvation Army and CBS in a lot of different ways. And one of them, one of what I’d call a real benefit of this is, at NTV, as a local television broadcaster, on occasion—we do a number of local productions—but on occasion, we do a fairly large production, and it requires a lot of production crew in order to do that. We're a small television station, so we only have so many technical camera operators, etc., etc. Well, we have, on numerous times now in the last couple of years, called on the volunteers that we have trained out at CBS to come help NTV with camera work for that production, and that's been a number of occasions. So, I believe it is a testament to the skills learned by the volunteers at the CBS core, and at the end of the day, everybody wins. CBS volunteers learn and train on professional video equipment and handle their live-stream services twice on Sunday, and then when NTV, the local television station here in the province, needs extra production people, we know where to go, and we call on the CBS volunteers to help. So, I think it's a win-win for everybody.

Claudette Pilgrim 

It's great partnership.

Chris Pilgrim

Wonderful partnership, that's for sure.

Kristin Ostensen

Wow, that's wonderful. And how cool that there's that sort of flow back and forth between the training and volunteering, and just what a wonderful opportunity to just expand the reach of the ministry. And as we're kind of wrapping up and looking ahead, what is your vision for this ministry? And how do you sense God leading you forward into the future?

Chris Pilgrim

It's easy to see the hand of God upon this ministry and the vision really is simple: to continue to connect with a world that is hurting and in need of hope and inviting them to Jesus. We do that through music, songs, sharing the Word of God—that never changes—and relying on a team, of course, that will help us get that message out loud and clear. So, what we've been doing, we will continue to do. Really, it's not about changing up much. God's hand is on the ministry, and we just want to follow what that lead looks like, and just to continue to speak into the lives of a hurting world, to be a light in the dark corners of the world. So that little church on the side of the road in Conception Bay South, Newfoundland and Labrador, will continue to be led by the Holy Spirit of God to do what we do, to reach the lives of many within our province, within our community, first of all, within our province and throughout the world.

Kristin Ostensen

Thank you for that. Thank you for this wonderful conversation. It's really a pleasure to hear about how God is moving through this ministry, and I just want to thank you all so much for your time today. It's been great to chat.

Claudette Pilgrim

You're welcome. Been good.

Chris Pilgrim

Thank you, Kristin.

Lindsey Andrews

Yeah. Thank you very much.

Kristin Ostensen

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the Salvationist podcast. You can find links to the CBS Facebook page and YouTube channel in the show notes. Listen to more episodes of the podcast at Salvationist.ca/podcast.