A Winnipeg church has chosen guitars and music to reach the community beyond its four walls.
"Many churches say they want to change, but it is usually just verbal. This was a congregation that wanted a change," said Ron Fischer, former pastor at Kildonan Community Church. "When you have the matriarchs of the congregation support you in what you're doing, you know the congregation is going to be moving forward."
It started with the youth in the community and a partnership with YFC. The other initiative was a guitar group.
"I'd learned guitar late in life. One person told me if I wanted to get better, I needed to play with people," said Ron Fischer. "I started playing guitar in the service."
Through this, Ron Fischer met Ron Overby, and the two started adding more and more people to their group.
"We started bringing in some ladies from the congregation to do the singing," Fischer explained. "The congregation loved it."
People from the community heard about this small initiative, and the impact was huge, with about a dozen people joining.
"It's just a lot of fun. You can really share, " said Darlene Overby. "What is a community if not for sharing and sharing gifts? If you have the gift of music, the gift of song. It just feels good."
"It's a lot of fun to watch other people play," Ron Overby explained. "They have smiles on their faces. They're enjoying themselves, which is good to be part of."
Guitars@Kildonan runs every Wednesday at Kildonan Community Church.
Today on Connections, Ron Fischer, Darlene and Ron Overby share the importance of church and the community. They'll also share more about Guitars@ Kildonan.