Since Experience Church, led by Pastor Quincy Harriman, opened their doors to the community of Calgary, AB on September 23, 2012, they “have done everything possible to create an environment where people can experience the God of the universe for themselves. When you come to Experience Church you’ll quickly realize that [they] love Jesus and the message of hope found in the cross and empty tomb.” They align themselves around one simple idea: “Jesus is For Everyone”.
Over the next years, the church grew to over 1,400 attending weekly. Due to this rapid growth, the church realized they needed to expand. More specifically, they needed a building that could become a broadcast location that can serve to achieve the church’s vision to have worship campuses 15 minutes from everyone in the city.
In early 2019, an opportunity to purchase a building that could fit their needs became available. This new facility would provide Experience Church with not only a permanent venue, but also radically increase their ability to offer a quality experience to their in-person and remote congregations. The building did need renovations to best set-up the building to fit their needs. Although they were good stewards with their finances, the purchase and renovations were going to require sacrifices.
One way God helped meet their needs on this project is through a couple struggling financially, during a time when the economy was not great. Although the couple was admittedly struggling to have faith in that moment, they knew what they were doing was not working and that God had never failed them before. God reminded them that they needed to continue to do what they were doing and trust and wait, even if they were not seeing results. In an effort to keep doubt from creeping in, they put reminders of God’s faithfulness on their walls, chalkboards and other places. They even felt they should set a date that if God did not meet their needs, they would take it as a sign that they should make changes in their life. The night of that date, God provided them with the exact amount they needed; and over the next couple months, God continued to meet their financial needs and beyond. Then, when Legacy Sunday came at Experience Church, they knew they couldn’t afford not to give. They felt God blessed them so abundantly that they gave an amount that was a huge stretch of faith. A year later, they received a huge gift 10 times the amount they gave – you can’t outgive God!
In early of March 2020, renovations to the new building were complete, and is often the case, God’s timing couldn’t have been better. A week after they had packed up all the gear from two mobile locations, COVID hit. At a time when rental facilities would not have let them in, they now had their own physical space to record their videos. In June of 2020, when restrictions to meet in-person were briefly lifted, they were able to hold services in their new building, while so many other churches that relied solely on rental facilities were unable to meet. This new church home was essential to them continuing their ministry to the community. The new church building provided them the freedom to produce high quality online services, as well as hold in-person services whenever restrictions eased.
Currently the building is being used every day of the week, allowing them to expand their impact in the community and advance their creative needs to meet people digitally. Over the past year their online community has grown from almost non-existent pre-COVID to between 400-500 households; with the new church building serving as their main broadcast location that can serve as a hub for future campuses in the city and beyond.
Mae Quinlan shared how at Experience Church, “We know our journeys may be different but when we move towards Jesus, our direction is the same! It’s our mission to help you discover your purpose and your place – to help you learn why you were created and the difference you can make. Best of all, we believe in making a difference together. We’re excited to get to know you and know that God has something amazing in store for your life!”
Mae further expressed, “It has meant so much to partner with a lender who understood our vision and our values. Church Investors Fund believed in us and gave us the opportunity to do something special for our community.”
