About Us
Background
There is a rapidly growing awareness within the Christian community of Toronto that significant progress toward the fulfillment of the Great Commission can be made right here in Canada’s most ethnically diverse city. Those of us who are immigrants, immigrants who live among us and the subsequent waves of newcomers who continue to arrive often originate from the very same countries to whom we have been sending missionaries for many years.
Several years ago a group of individuals committed to reaching the nations among us began to find each other and network together for the sake of the Kingdom. As some of them began meeting and talking together they came to a shared conclusion that our efforts to impact those nations among us could be greatly accelerated through a higher level of collaboration and working together. There was a will to extend Christ’s love across the cultures and ethnicities of the Greater Toronto Area. However, the resources, the collective knowledge, and the experience of people with a similar focus had been difficult to find and access.
Beginning in early 2006 individuals representing a broad spectrum of Christian denominations, mission agencies, backgrounds and ethnicities came together to address these concerns. This led to the progressive development of a strategy and structure for those with a passion to reach the “nations” living among us. These discussions came to fulfilment with the creation of UReach Toronto. To provide ongoing leadership the Tyndale Intercultural Ministries (TIM) Centre was asked to maintain and guide the use and functioning of the website (Learn more about the TIM Centre).
Goals & Values
The goal of UREACHToronto is to provide an accessible vehicle for receiving and sharing tools, information, expertise, and resources related to engaging and embracing the diverse peoples of the Greater Toronto Area. It aims to be a comprehensive resource centre for Christians engaged in intercultural ministry. Its objective to connect people with one another to collectively develop a strategic vision and to learn skills necessary to reach our multicultural communities.
UReach Toronto’s activities are organized around four key values:
- Unity in Christ
- Ethno-cultural Diversity
- Understanding
- Partnership
A Collaborative Future
UREACHToronto.com is a critical initiative that has grown out of this collaboration. This website has become a valuable tool in our collective effort to connect people and share resources that will facilitate Christian ministry and mission among the diverse peoples of the Greater Toronto Area and beyond. In late 2010 the UReach Toronto website transitioned to a new technology that enabled it it to respond quickly to the changing needs of ministry. This new website is more interactive, provides more opportunities for networking, and is a better platform for aggregating and organizing an increasing volume of ministry and demographic resources related to the Greater Toronto Area.
However, UREACHToronto.com is only as strong as the collective commitment of those who are willing to partner with and contribute to this developing initiative. Every person and organization who has contributed to the development of UReachToronto.com has done it on top of their already full work and ministry schedules. The heart and soul of this website comes from those like you who are engaged in this dimension of Kingdom work. The expanding data, the tools and the resources for reaching across the cultures and the stories of what God is doing from many different perspectives are our collective contributions to the kingdom of God in the Greater Toronto area.
The contributions of many people, churches, denominations and mission agencies are welcomed. Please contact us if you would like to make a contribution of time, money or resources to help develop UREACHToronto.com in its goal to provide resources for intercultural ministry in the Greater Toronto Area.
