For the first time since its inception, Living Hope Community Church in Estevan has a senior pastor other than Scott Harrison.
Harrison has been the senior pastor at the church since it started in 1984; the first services took place in the basement of the Harrison family’s home. Now the church attracts about 250 people each week for its Sunday morning service.
Living Hope held a transition service on Sunday, in which Harrison handed over the senior pastor’s mantle to Michael Hoffort, who had been the church’s associate pastor. Harrison will be the associate pastor until Aug. 31, when he’ll retire from working at the church.
Harrison believes that not only is this the best time for him and his wife Kellie to step aside, but for Hoffort and his wife Kristin to move into the top role at the church. It was also the best time for Living Hope itself.
“Mike was ready,” said Harrison. “It’s sort of like getting married or having kids. You never are really ready, but…”
The last 33 years have carried a lot of milestones for Harrison and his family.
“There has been lots of good,” said Harrison. “Estevan is full of amazing people, and we have been blessed for God to gather a lot of them into Living Hope. You do a lot of reflecting on friendships and relationships. Over 33 years, there have been all kinds of situations and different ministries we have been involved in.”
The church has had several different locations over the years. Thirteen people attended that first service in the Harrisons’ basement in 1984. That number quickly swelled to 25, so services were moved to the John Pho room in the Derrick Motor Inn in 1985.
Living Hope purchased the former Ukrainian Catholic Church building on Perkins Street in 1987. Sixteen years later, the church amalgamated with Grace Community Church, and moved to its current home at the intersection of King Street and Kensington Avenue. An expansion took place a few years later.
Living Hope grew to the point in which it was up to two services on Sunday mornings, but it returned to one service a few years ago.
A children’s ministry, youth discipleship and other programs are part of the church.
“We have a team of people who provide furniture and all kinds of amenities to newcomers into the community,” said Harrison. “Sometimes three times a week they’re delivering furniture.”
Reflections on the changes, growth and accomplishments always come back to people, he said.
“The memory starts with a person or a group of people, and then you think about it, and it ends with a person or a group of people,” said Harrison.
He even had the opportunity to be a principal while at Living Hope, as the church operated a Christian school from 1987 to 2001, when it merged with Southeast Christian Academy. The school remained opened until 2005.
He also hosted Living Hope Presents on Access Communications for a number of years.
When Harrison and his family arrived in Estevan in 1984, he was confident that the family would be in the Energy City for the long term. They didn’t expect they would go elsewhere in five or 10 years.
“We were pretty convinced that the Lord had us here for the long haul,” said Harrison. “We wanted to be able to make a significant impact. Pastoring is a marathon, it’s not a sprint. You’re doing what you can to invest in people’s lives. The longer you’re able to do it, the more effective you’ll be.”
The last six months have carried a lot of thoughts about “last time” moments, he said. There would be the last time he would attend a certain meeting as the senior pastor, or the last time he would preside over the church’s Christmas service.
As the associate pastor, Harrison said he won’t be preaching as much, but he will be reaching out to those who visit the church for the first time, who are in the hospital or who are going through tough times.
He’ll also help find the new associate pastor at Living Hope.
“That’s a big part of my job is to replace myself,” he said with a laugh.
A large crowd was on hand for the transition service. Harrison described it as the last step in the leadership shift. Ian and Val Byrd from the church’s denomination, Life Links, were on hand, and Ian Byrd delivered a short message. Then the congregation prayed for the Hofforts.
“It was amazing,” said Hoffort. “The support from the congregation was overwhelming.”
Hoffort has been the associate pastor since January 2011. He said it’s been a really good experience, and he has taken more and more responsibility over the years.
“I started out as basically pastoring the people who aren’t in a home group, or who aren’t leaders, and then added to my responsibility overseeing the building, added to my responsibility of overseeing the deacon’s meetings,” he said.
Discussions about the leadership transition started about three years ago following a church succession webinar. By that point, Hoffort was thinking about becoming senior pastor.
“We started transitioning our roles … in May,” said Hoffort. “We started with little things here and there, trading different roles. When we announced that we were going to be going forward with the transition in May, we had already started with little things here and there, and eventually by October most of Scott’s roles and my roles had been changed.”
The majority of those changes were done by Jan. 1.
Hoffort recognizes it will be tough to take Harrison’s place, due to Harrison’s experience and what he means to the church and the community. And he’s glad that he will be able to draw on Harrison’s experience until the end of August.
“It’ll be different when he’s not here,” said Hoffort.
