Situated in southern Alberta's foothills are the communities formerly named Black Diamond and Turner Valley. These two historic towns are now amalgamated as Diamond Valley, but the old names still identify the specific part of town. Foothills Bible Fellowship exists to serve these communities and the surrounding area with bible based care and teaching.
OUR STORY
The story of Foothills Bible Fellowship (FBF) began with an email from Pastor Kelly Henning, then newly elected president of the AFLC Canada, asking John and Brenda Attwood if they would be willing to consider beginning a house church in Black Diamond. After a summer of soul searching and prayer - and even a few 'fleeces' (cf. Judges 6:36 – 38) - then seeing God confirm this call in a very miraculous way, we began on Labour Day Sunday in 2017.
There were four adults present and two children, and God has blessed us with a healthy contingent of children ever since. Some Sundays we have almost as many children as adults, and occasionally the children outnumber the adults. We have always tried to integrate the children into our Sunday morning services, and into Bible studies where appropriate.
Our early gatherings were on Wednesday evenings while most of us attended other churches on Sundays. John and Brenda used the time to visit a number of churches, trying to see if we could adapt anything from their ministries to increase the effectiveness of our own. Eventually, we moved to St. George's Anglican Church in Turner Valley for Sunday afternoon services thanks to their incredible generosity, and finally now meeting at Valley Neighbours Club at 10:30 on Sunday mornings.
Two of our goals have been to be a place of refuge for people who have felt alienated from the organized church, and to preach and teach straight from scripture with a minimum of denominational distinctives.
Two quotes from people who attended have particularly blessed me, John, as the Pastor.
The first was from a person with a fragile relationship with society who said, 'I feel safe here.'
The second was from a man I deeply respected who had a different theological perspective than me, who used to phone me if he felt I had been unclear or 'off base', and in a pleasant way to try to straighten out my sermons (at least once successfully). I preached a sermon one morning that I was sure would offend him, and I expected a phone call. Sure enough, the call came while I was on my way home, but to my surprise he said, 'that was a real good sermon.' What blessed me was what he said next. 'It was a simple sermon, but a good one.' Simplicity is what I strive for.
In the summer of 2024, God blessed us with the opportunity to hire an intern pastor, which has greatly benefitted the fellowship. Preaching has been refreshed, ministry has been expanded, and even our website has been updated to become more relevant than in the past.
The Lord has been gracious in allowing the establishment and growth of Foothills Bible Fellowship, and so we strive every day to magnify His name and bring glory to Him! May God continue to use FBF to spread the Good News of Jesus’ offering up His own life on a cross to pay the penalty for the sin of all who would believe in Him.
The story of Foothills Bible Fellowship (FBF) began with an email from Pastor Kelly Henning, then newly elected president of the AFLC Canada, asking John and Brenda Attwood if they would be willing to consider beginning a house church in Black Diamond. After a summer of soul searching and prayer - and even a few 'fleeces' (cf. Judges 6:36 – 38) - then seeing God confirm this call in a very miraculous way, we began on Labour Day Sunday in 2017.
There were four adults present and two children, and God has blessed us with a healthy contingent of children ever since. Some Sundays we have almost as many children as adults, and occasionally the children outnumber the adults. We have always tried to integrate the children into our Sunday morning services, and into Bible studies where appropriate.
Our early gatherings were on Wednesday evenings while most of us attended other churches on Sundays. John and Brenda used the time to visit a number of churches, trying to see if we could adapt anything from their ministries to increase the effectiveness of our own. Eventually, we moved to St. George's Anglican Church in Turner Valley for Sunday afternoon services thanks to their incredible generosity, and finally now meeting at Valley Neighbours Club at 10:30 on Sunday mornings.
Two of our goals have been to be a place of refuge for people who have felt alienated from the organized church, and to preach and teach straight from scripture with a minimum of denominational distinctives.
Two quotes from people who attended have particularly blessed me, John, as the Pastor.
The first was from a person with a fragile relationship with society who said, 'I feel safe here.'
The second was from a man I deeply respected who had a different theological perspective than me, who used to phone me if he felt I had been unclear or 'off base', and in a pleasant way to try to straighten out my sermons (at least once successfully). I preached a sermon one morning that I was sure would offend him, and I expected a phone call. Sure enough, the call came while I was on my way home, but to my surprise he said, 'that was a real good sermon.' What blessed me was what he said next. 'It was a simple sermon, but a good one.' Simplicity is what I strive for.
In the summer of 2024, God blessed us with the opportunity to hire an intern pastor, which has greatly benefitted the fellowship. Preaching has been refreshed, ministry has been expanded, and even our website has been updated to become more relevant than in the past.
The Lord has been gracious in allowing the establishment and growth of Foothills Bible Fellowship, and so we strive every day to magnify His name and bring glory to Him! May God continue to use FBF to spread the Good News of Jesus’ offering up His own life on a cross to pay the penalty for the sin of all who would believe in Him.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?
It means that we are working in our local area, Diamond Valley, to help make Jesus known to you. Where man might fail, Jesus will not.
For 2,000 years men and women from all walks of life have found reason to hope, to have peace, and to be full of joy. Why? Because the promises of God are very real.
Truly, Jesus is no less relevant today than He has ever been, and we would love to sit down with you and discuss what He has done for us and how He can be relevant in your life: how you can know that God is in control in spite of all that seems so crazy in our world today.
We are not saying He will make you rich and famous, remove all the annoyances from your life, or give you a life of ease, but He will provide even more than all of those things, and help you navigate through your difficulties.
If this interests you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
It means that we are working in our local area, Diamond Valley, to help make Jesus known to you. Where man might fail, Jesus will not.
For 2,000 years men and women from all walks of life have found reason to hope, to have peace, and to be full of joy. Why? Because the promises of God are very real.
Truly, Jesus is no less relevant today than He has ever been, and we would love to sit down with you and discuss what He has done for us and how He can be relevant in your life: how you can know that God is in control in spite of all that seems so crazy in our world today.
We are not saying He will make you rich and famous, remove all the annoyances from your life, or give you a life of ease, but He will provide even more than all of those things, and help you navigate through your difficulties.
If this interests you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
