In this blog we highlight insights from Dr. Harry Gardner (President Emeritus of Acadia Divinity College and National Convener for Canadian Baptists) and Dr. Jodi L. Porter (Director of Education for Ministry Innovation at Acadia Divinity College).

Their reflections capture something vital about this moment in Canadian Christianity: a renewed openness to one another and a shared hope that collaboration, humility, and trust may yet shape the church’s future.

These insights matter because they point to a foundational truth: faithful innovation is not simply about new models, but about new relationships. Renewal will come as the church learns again to trust across traditions, to listen deeply, and to imagine together what God is doing in our time.

Renewal Rooted in Mutual Trust

Dr. Harry Gardner observed a distinct change in tone at the Innovation & Future Church Forum, one that revealed a growing readiness for cooperation and shared discernment:

“I came away from the Innovation and Future Church Forum with renewed hope for the Church in Canada. The presentations, round table discussions and individual conversations demonstrated a mutuality in ministry, no evidence of competition, a humility that no one ministry in particular has it all but that we need one another to be the Church and to accomplish the mission going forward… In times past, I have witnessed a suspicion of one another in these types of gatherings. I did not sense that at all but only a keen interest in data presented and healthy questioning. New relationships were formed and an expectation of hope was cultivated for our work and mission in Canada.”

So What? Harry’s reflection signals a cultural and spiritual shift within Canadian Christianity, from competition to cooperation, from guarded independence to relational trust.
For decades, fragmentation has limited the church’s collective impact. His insight reminds us that collaboration itself is an act of witness, a way of embodying the unity we proclaim.
If this openness continues to deepen, it could become the foundation of an ecosystem of shared learning, mutual care, and collaborative mission, one that enables the Canadian church to navigate complexity together rather than alone.

Innovation that Emerges from Diversity

Dr. Jodi Porter reflected on the energy that emerges when the church gathers across its diversity (linguistic, regional, and vocational) to dream together:

“The Innovation and Future Church Forum in Montreal gathered diverse voices from across the Canadian church to dream together, including Anglophone and Francophone voices. I am eager for more conversations like these, with even more diverse voices present. It is energizing to be in spaces where leaders in business, church, and education bring the best of their gifts together for the future of the church in Canada. How can the church be its best in the public square? How can we relate well with Indigenous congregants and neighbours? How can we nurture our youth to lead the way forward? Daydreams become reality even in the space of a short conversation as we realize that we have the passions and the tools in the room to take faithful next steps together.”

So What? Jodi’s reflection highlights that diversity is not a challenge to innovation; it is its source. The future of the Canadian church will depend on its ability to gather across boundaries and draw from the richness of multiple traditions, languages, and experiences.

Her observation pushes us to consider that the Spirit’s creative work is revealed not through uniformity but through difference held in unity. In a fragmented age, cultivating spaces of shared imagination across diversity may be one of the most faithful innovations the church can practice.

Moving Forward

Together, these reflections illuminate the deeper reality emerging from the Innovation & Future Church Forum: that faithful innovation is relational before it is structural.

• Relationally, it calls us to build trust and mutuality as the foundation of our witness.
• Culturally, it invites us to embrace diversity as a catalyst for shared imagination.
• Spiritually, it reminds us that collaboration is not a strategy but a sign of God’s reconciling work among us.

The Futuring Hub at Acadia Divinity College will continue to walk alongside leaders and organizations across Canada, cultivating spaces of shared discernment, theological reflection, and futures-oriented collaboration.

The future of the Canadian church will not be built by isolated institutions, but by communities willing to listen, imagine, and innovate together, trusting that God is already at work, making all things new.

You can explore more about this ongoing work at www.futuringhub.ca and reach out to join the growing network of leaders seeking to imagine the future church together.