Million Dollar Neighbourhood on OWN

So, tonight the world (or at least the nation) will be introduced to my town, Aldergrove BC through Oprah Winfrey Network Canada's "Million Dollar Neighbourhood". My family is a part of this town and this program, and I'm just as excited as anybody (and more excited than most) about tonight's premiere.

I grew up in Aldergrove. Until I was 10 years old, these were the streets I walked, the grocery stores I frequented, the barber shops I visited, and the schools and churches at which I studied and learned about relationships. My family moved not too far, to Langley and then to Brookswood, but Aldergrove always stayed with me. After living in Surrey, Abbotsford, Winnipeg, North Delta, and again in Langley, I moved my own family to Aldergrove almost three years ago.

We moved here to start a church. It didn't work out. For many reasons.

One of the biggest reasons our church didn't get started is because we found it incredibly difficult to get to know people in Aldergrove. We aren't alone in that evaluation. As I've talked with people I've finally met through the show, the biggest complaint about the town is that people are living such insular lives. They don't seem to WANT to get to know their neighbours.

Now, obviously that's not an entirely fair assessment. If people didn't WANT to, they wouldn't. And yet here we have a show featuring 100 families who DO want to get to know their neighbours. Quite deeply, actually. But I need to be careful about how much of the show I reveal before each episode.

But here we were in Aldergrove, with our dream of 'planting a church' on hold. We had to decide whether we were going to stick it out in town, or find a ministry job elsewhere. We were compelled to stay in Aldergrove. We felt that God had called us here, not just to plant a church but to BE an expression of His Church here. So I began the process of finding employment that would allow our family to remain here.

A couple of weeks after that, we heard that Force Four Entertainment, the same company that produced Village on a Diet were interested in possibly doing a show based in Aldergrove. A few other communities were being scouted, but Aldergrove ended being selected to film a test episode.

Soon after that, I got a job with Canada Post and we were also contacted by Force Four to see if we were still interested in being one of the 100 families that would make up the show. The rest will have to wait.

I can say now that the show, MDN has brought our town together in community like never before. We're talking to people at the grocery store, waving as we see each other on the streets, getting together for events, and it's great to know others no matter what their backgrounds or lifestyles. We're not presently pursuing a church plant here, but we're more determined than ever to be Good News to our new friends in our old town, and we're excited to see what God has in store for Aldergrove!

Keep following this blog, and I'll post sometime in the week following each show to offer my reflections and responses on the show that already aired (but no spoilers... so don't ask!).